Jake Sweger at Moravian 1/9/16
75
Winner Elizabethtown ETOWN 3-14, 1-8 LC
74
Merchant Marine USMMA 8-8, 4-6 LC
Winner
Elizabethtown ETOWN
3-14, 1-8 LC
75
Final
74
Merchant Marine USMMA
8-8, 4-6 LC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Elizabethtown ETOWN 29 46 75
Merchant Marine USMMA 38 36 74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Blue Jays knock off Merchant Marine for first Landmark win

KINGS POINT, N.Y. – A massive weight was lifted from the Blue Jays' shoulders Monday afternoon when Merchant Marine missed a potential game-tying free throw with 0.8 to go, allowing Elizabethtown to snap a nine-game losing skid and pick up its first Landmark Conference win, 75-74.

Jake Sweger's turnaround jumper from the left baseline with 4.6 seconds to play rattled home as the shot clock expired, giving the Blue Jays (3-14, 1-8 LC) a 75-73 lead, but officials called a foul on Peter Harding near midcourt on Merchant Marine's final possession. The foul was Harding's fifth and put George Hatzioannides on the line for two shots with a chance to tie the game.

Hatzioannides' first shot rolled around the rim and in, but his second hit left iron and Sweger grabbed it as time expired.

Elizabethtown led by nine points in the first half, going up 20-11 on a Dylan Krieger jumper in the paint with 11:32 to go. The Mariners (8-8, 4-6 LC) answered in a big way, going on a 25-6 run to lead 36-26 with under three minutes to play in the half.

Merchant Marine led 38-29 at the half and was still up 10, 56-46, with 11:43 left in regulation.

Senior forward Matt Ziegler gave E-town its first lead of the second half, as his jumper with 2:18 to go made it 70-69. Preston Padgett knocked down a trey at the other end, forcing the Jays to mount another rally.

Kreiger stepped to the line with 1:00 remaining and buried a pair of freebies to give Elizabethtown a 73-72 lead. The freshman from Hanover led the Blue and Gray with 18 points –his fourth straight contest in double figures. Krieger also grabbed six rebounds and is now averaging 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in nine games since joining the varsity squad back on Dec. 12, against Merchant Marine.

Robbie Kennedy could only convert 1-of-2 free throws with 35 seconds to go and Sweger nabbed the rebound to give Elizabethtown the ball with the score knotted at 73. With about a five-second differential between the game and shot clocks, the Blue Jays could not hold for the final shot. Coach Bob Schlosser called timeout with 10 seconds left to draw up a final offensive play.

The play drawn up may not have gone according to plan, but Sweger found himself with the ball and the shot clock winding down. The junior from Willow Street turned and fired, getting a friendly roll from the rim at Liebertz Gymnasium to put the Jays up a pair.

Sweger finished with six points and five boards. Peter Harding scored 15 points on the strength of 4-of-9 shooting from 3-point range and Josh Eden added 12. Tommy James came up with eight points and seven rebounds, while Andrew Fry connected on both of his 3-point attempts in the game.

The Jays shot 50% (28-of-56) overall and 6-of-14 from three. They were also 13-of-17 at the foul line.

Merchant Marine got a game-high 27 points from Matt Miller. Padgett scored 16 and David Smith 13 before fouling out. The game was evenly played across the board. The Mariners turned it over once more than the Jays, 13-12, and lost the battle on the boards 32-27.

Both teams finished with six steals and shot in the high 70-percent range from the foul line. Merchant Marine made 49.1% of its attempts from the floor (26-of-53), just below E-town's 50%.

Elizabethtown will head to nationally-ranked Susquehanna Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip.
 
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