PHOENIXVILLE, PA – The Valley Forge Christian College men's basketball team secured their first home win of the season on Friday in the second round of the Holiday Inn Express Tip-Off Classic, defeating the Saints of Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College (Moore, OK) by a final score of 84-73.
Looking to shake off last night's opening round jitters, the Patriots opened tonight's game on an 11-0 run in the first 3:00 of play. They were able to keep the Saints at bay, controlling the first half. Hillsdale was able to fight back to within 3 points with five minutes remaining in the half, but Valley Forge, feeding off of their energy from the stands, again extended their lead to 10 points with under 2:00 to play in the half, and were able to hold a seven point advantage at the break.
To start the second half, it was the Saints who came out with energy, opening on a 10-0 run, catching the Patriots on their heels, and taking the lead in the first several minutes of play. Both teams traded the lead through the midpoint of the half, until the Patriots regained control and extended their lead. They led again by as many as ten points in the half, and were able to keep the Saints out of reach down the stretch.
One key to tonight's victory was a much improved team shooting effort from the free throw line. After hitting just 50% of their free throws last night, the Patriots were 19-for-24 tonight (79%) from the charity stripe. Valley Forge also brought in 25 points from the bench tonight, to Hillsdale's nine, giving head coach Jon Mack the confidence he needed to see from his subs. The Patriots controlled the boards, out rebounding the Saints 42-31.
Leading the Patriots to victory tonight was senior
Lance Harris, who finished with a team high 29 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Harris was solid from the free throw line as well, draining nine-of-ten shots in the contest.
Junior
Jean LeBlanc also had an impressive night scoring 19 points and grabbing six rebounds as well.
Freshman
Tony Hazzard added nine points to the scoreboard, thanks to a 3-for-3 shooting effort from the field and hitting three free throws on two trips to the line. Hazzard also grabbed six rebounds on the night.
Another Patriots freshman,
Jarvis Hardy, also had a fine performance, draining nine points, and dishing out five assists.
In the loss, Hillsdale's Phil Carey led all scorers with 30 points and grabbed a team high seven rebounds. Carey was followed by Brandon Powel and Chris Williams who each added 10 points to the scoreboard.
Valley Forge will look to finish this tournament home stand with another win on Saturday, when they host the Knights of Kentucky Christian University. Game time is scheduled for 6 pm.
Go Patriots!
