The Elizabethtown College men’s basketball team is in the midst of a battle for the final position in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) playoffs. The team began this push this past weekend when it took on Alvernia University at Thompson Gymnasium. Despite the Blue Jays’ best effort, the Crusaders were too much to handle, defeating Etown 80-74.
Senior Ryan Borzager scored a career-high nine points coming off the bench in the first half. The captain hit all three of his three-point attempts during the half. Junior Phil Wenger, not to be outdone, matched Borzager’s point total with nine. By game’s end, Wenger notched 13 points.
Senior Andrew Mantz, who ended the game with nine points, tipped in an errant shot at the buzzer to give the Blue Jays a first half lead heading into the locker rooms.
The conference rivals came out ready to play in the second half as the teams swapped leads throughout the period. In total, there were eight lead changes in the half. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, the final lead change belonged to the Crusaders.
Alvernia’s Khalil Bennett hit a pair of threes to regain a lead that they would never relinquish. When the final whistle blew, Bennett totaled 27 points to lead all scorers. Remarkably, all
five starters for the Crusaders finished in double figures for Alvernia.
The Blue Jays had little time to regroup, as they were back on the court Monday when they took on yet another conference opponent in Arcadia University. The game came down to the final minutes, with Etown eventually pulling out the nail-biter, 81-76.
Led by junior Lee Eckert’s team-high 22 points, the Blue Jays were able to pull away from the Knights in the waning minutes of play. This was the fourth time this season that Eckert hit the 20-point plateau in a game.
The game seemed to be well in hand entering the second half for Etown, until Arcadia began to drain three-pointers. The Knights scored 15 straight points of these shots to get within three of the home team.
Determined to end their four-game losing streak and keep their playoff hopes alive, the Blue Jays hunkered down on defense, denying the Knights the lead. This was the third time in school history that Etown swept Acadia since joining the MAC.
Eckert hit a layup with just under a minute to go, securing an Etown victory. In total, four Blue Jays scored in double figures, including Eckert, Wenger, Mantz and senior captain Joe Schwalm. Mantz also recorded his sixth double-double of the season, tying his career high he set during his sophomore campaign.
The Blue Jays then traveled to Widener University last night in an attempt to start their first winning streak since early December.
The Pride led Etown by one at halftime before outscoring them by four in the second half to grab a 74-69 victory.
The Blue Jays were led by junior Will Schlosser who scored 18 points on six three-pointers. Eckert scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds. Wenger scored six points and dished out nine assists in the loss.
