University held off a late surge and upset bid Friday night, defeating Lebanon 51-45 at the Tigers’ Rosenstihl Gymnasium.
For much of the night, little could separate the Trailblazers (18-2) from the plucky Tigers (6-15). University led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter, but Lebanon surged back to take a second-quarter lead before the teams entered halftime knotted, 24-24. For the most part, the third quarter was much of the same — University took the early advantage, but Lebanon came back to grab leads of its own.
It was in the quarter’s final minute, however, where the game turned on its head. The Trailblazers had recently retaken the lead, 37-36, when Lebanon tried to hold the ball for the quarter’s last shot. University forced a turnover and scored on an Ethan Sickels layup to go up three. Again, Lebanon tried to play for one last shot, and again, the Tigers turned it over, with Sam Mervis punishing them on the other end with a buzzer-beating jumper to push the Trailblazers advantage to 41-36.
The trend continued at the start of the fourth quarter — on each of Lebanon’s first three possessions, University forced a turnover, and on each of them, the Trailblazers scored two points through David Howard (one made 2-pointer, four made free throws). Suddenly, the Trailblazers had rattled off a 12-0 run, taking a 47-36 lead that carried them through to the win.
University struggled down the stretch at the foul line — the Trailblazers missed all three front ends as they made just four of their last nine free-throw attempts — but they kept Lebanon’s at an arm’s length. The Tigers only got within a possession once in the fourth quarter, at 48-45, and never had the ball with a chance to tie. When that lead closed to three, the Trailblazers got the ball to Howard, who hit two free throws to move the advantage back to 50-45 with fewer than 30 seconds left. Lebanon threw up a wild shot before Hodgin split free throws to leave the game at the final margin.
Howard became University’s fourth all-time leading scorer Friday night, with his game-high 17-point performance pushing him past Jordan Pickett in the record books. Sickels opened hot, with 11 in the first quarter, but finished with just 13.
The Trailblazers return to action Tuesday night, visiting Greenwood Christian for the second time in 10 days. University won the previous game, the PAAC championship, 64-46.
University 51, Lebanon 45
University FG FT TP PF
David Howard 4 8-8 17 2
Ethan Sickels 5 0-0 13 0
Foster Flamion 2 0-2 4 1
Josh Watson 1 0-0 2 1
Zack Hodgin 0 4-10 4 3
Sam Mervis 2 0-0 5 3
Quinn Steiner 1 0-0 3 0
Max Greenamoyer 1 0-0 3 1
Totals 16 12-20 51 11
Score by Quarters
University 14 10 17 10 – 51
Lebanon 10 14 12 9 – 45
University 3-pointers (7) Sickels 3, Howard, Steiner, Mervis, Greenamoyer.