OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Using a balanced attack in which all nine Mustangs scored and a defense that held Lebanon Valley to 37.1% shooting, the Stevenson men's basketball team defeated the visiting Dutchmen, 69-62, Thursday night in Commonwealth Conference action at Owings Mills Gymnasium.

The win pushes Stevenson (12-5, 5-3 MAC) a game ahead of Lebanon Valley (10-7, 4-4 MAC) in the conference standings, and into a tie for second place in the Commonwealth Conference along with Alvernia, Arcadia, and Hood.

Junior Erik Fisher and senior Justin Kuntz led the Mustangs with 11 points apiece while sophomore Darius Walker added ten points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds.  The Dutchmen, meanwhile, were led by a two-man attack with Kevin Agnew pouring in 28 and Andy Orr scoring 17 points and grabbing ten rebounds.

Both offenses started slowly, but the Mustangs began to inch away thanks to some tight defense that caused four turnovers in the opening five minutes.  The advantage grew to six, 12-6, after senior Colby Giacubeno hit both free throws following a technical foul at the 14:47 mark.

Stevenson gradually built its lead over the next five minutes and the advantage hit double-digits at 20-10 with 9:35 left in the half after junior Christian Roberts setup classmate Chris Day for a lay-in and forced Lebanon Valley to take a timeout.

The Mustangs were able to maintain their lead through efficient inside play from Fisher and sophomore Ryan Hill.  The two combined for 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the half, while Kuntz added five points for SU.  As a team, Stevenson outscored Lebanon Valley, 22-14, in the paint in the opening stanza.

With his team up by nine and the clock running out in the first half, junior Julian Davis took a feed from Sean Farr at the top of the key and drilled a three-pointer to send the hosts into the break with a 34-22 lead.

The defense was the story of the first half for the Mustangs who held the Dutchmen to 27.6% shooting (8-for-29), while forcing seven turnovers and blocking five shots.  The Mustangs, meanwhile, converted 45.2% (14-for-31) of their shots.

Lebanon Valley started the second half on a positive note and cut the SU lead to eight, 34-26, on back-to-back possessions, but Roberts answered with a deep three to reinstate the Mustangs' double-digit cushion.

The lead grew from there and reached 19 points, 49-30, with 13:30 remaining as the Mustangs rattled off ten straight points, punctuated by a steal and lay-in by Roberts. 

In the middle stages of the half LVC was able to cut into the lead, using a 7-2 run fueled by Agnew to trim the lead to 59-45.  Minutes later Travis Conrad drained a three from the right wing to bring the Dutchmen to with 11. The visitors continued the trend and finally got the deficit to single digits as Conrad hit another three with 3:16 left to make it 59-51.

The Mustangs finally ended their scoring draught and answered quickly with Fisher downing a jumper at the other end.  Roberts then converted another lay-up after a defensive stop for the Mustangs before Orr responded for the Dutchmen with a leaner.

Down the stretch Lebanon Valley was able to cut the lead to just five, but could not get any closer as two free throws from Giacubeno closed out the victory for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs now hit the road to take on Widener on Saturday before returning to Owings Mills Gymnasium to host Arcadia next weekend.