Elizabethtown College men’s basketball took on Rosemont College in their Toys for Tots Christmas fundraiser game on Saturday as they hoped to have their first 3-0 start since 2007.
After their victory against Messiah College, the Blue Jays had secured their first 2-0 start since 2021, including a victory against Franklin & Marshall College. The Ravens entered the game 0-2, losing in their first two matchups against Gwynedd Mercy University and Haverford College by double digits. This game was the first ever matchup between the two schools, since Rosemont became a co-ed school in 2009.
Etown started the game off strong, launching into a 7-1 run to open the game in the first half, led by senior guard Austin Finarelli hitting the opening three pointer. Rosemont climbed back slowly but surely, tying the game up at nine after getting a basket in transition and making a few layups through a tough Blue Jay defense. After Rosemont took a lead with 14 minutes to go in the first half, the Blue Jays made sure that the Ravens wouldn’t have that opportunity again, surging on an 11-2 run to put Etown up by eight.
Rosemont pulled the game back within two, however, Etown continued their momentum with a huge 16-1 run to propel them into a double digit lead. Junior guard Woody Machado led the team in scoring on the run with four points, as it was well spread out amongst the Blue Jay team. Senior guard Ben Stanton and sophomore guard Zuri Harris added to the Etown lead, with Harris knocking down four free throws and adding a layup to add six points in the final three minutes of the first half. The Blue Jays held the momentum and the lead heading into the half, with the score being 46-23.
Etown added a few more points to start the second half including buckets from senior guard EJ Finney and sophomore forward Anthony Lilly. Finarelli and Machado added a pair of layups to increase the Blue Jay lead to 30 with 15 minutes to go in the second half. The Ravens tried to find an opportunity to strike, scoring various times throughout the second half, but the Blue Jays stayed even with Rosemont, matching their points with their own to maintain the large lead. After Etown continued to pile on the points heading into the end of the second half, the Blue Jays defeated the Ravens with a final score of 94-65, moving to 3-0 on the season.
Finarelli scored his 1000th career point for the Blue Jays, becoming the 38th player in Etown history to do so. Finarelli finished the game with 13 points and two steals in 21 minutes. Harris led the team in scoring, putting 19 points on the board off the bench with three assists. Stanton and Finney both contributed 11 points in the contest and Lilly had 10 points in 18 minutes for the Blue Jays. Machado finished the game with a filled statline, posting six points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks in the win.
Etown will take on Lebanon Valley College in their next home matchup on Nov. 25 and their next home in conference matchup will be against Scranton University on Jan. 7.
