The Elizabethtown College men’s and women’s basketball teams celebrated Senior Day in a big way on Saturday, Feb. 10 against Wilkes University. The men’s team kicked off the day’s festivities with an 85-82 down-to-the-wire win in overtime. Later, the women’s team followed up with a stellar performance in a convincing 79-61 win. These wins moved the men’s team to 9-14 and the women’s team to 17-6 with just a couple games left in regular season play.
The men’s team took the court at 2 p.m. and second-year guard Austin Finarelli stole the show. He was effective early and often, dropping 28 points on 53 percent shooting. The guard also dished out four assists and hauled in seven rebounds. Fourth-years — center Dylan Rowe and guard Tyreke Herbert — were also incredibly efficient. The seniors both shot five of seven from the field, finishing with 12 and 10 points respectively.
The entirety of this one was a back-and-forth affair. The teams traded buckets, never letting the other out of their sights. The biggest lead of the game was just six points, a lead that was quickly erased within minutes. The Blue Jays got a strong contribution from the bench in the first half and Finarelli was on fire from the jump. By the end of the first half of play, Wilkes knotted it up at 36.
The second half was much of the same. It looked like Etown was the better team about halfway through the half. Third-year guard Rance Russo, fourth-year forward Niko Georgelis and Finarelli combined to knock down four shots from behind the arch that helped give Etown the edge late. However, as the Jays clung onto a three point lead, Wilkes second-year forward Lucas Lesko, who’d been giving Etown problems all day with a 36 point effort, drilled a clutch three to send it to overtime.
Once the overtime period opened up, it was clear it was Etown’s game. They built a three point advantage thanks to Russo, who scored five of the team’s 10 points in overtime. Wilkes had another opportunity to send it to double overtime, but the Jays played suffocating defense on the final couple possessions to take home the win.
The women’s team got their chance against Wilkes at 4 p.m. that day and didn’t disappoint. It was a great all-around performance, holding Wilkes to under 40 percent shooting and shooting over 45 percent and hitting 40 percent of their threes. Three Blue Jays reached double figures. Third-years — guard Summer McNulty and center DaniRae Renno —led the team with 17 each and fourth-year forward Jessica King kept pace with 14. Both Renno and King recorded double-doubles on points and rebounds.
The first half was one that saw the Blue Jays build up a ten point lead. After a 12-0 run to end the first quarter, Etown kept a steady pace in the second quarter to go into the locker room firing on all cylinders. Renno and King got the ball rolling for the Blue Jays in the early going. Renno tallied 12 points while knocking down five of her seven attempts from the field and King hit 50 percent of her shots and went a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe.
The Blue Jays came into the second half with the same energy and scored the first seven points of the third quarter. Wilkes would go on a bit of a run near the end of the quarter, but Etown locked in defensively and stopped the bleeding. With a 12 point lead in the final quarter, it was smooth sailing from there on out for Etown. The Jays outscored Wilkes 19-13 in the final quarter, scoring six points off turnover to lock up the win.
