ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Wednesday, January 28, 1998

JAYS POST FIRST LEAGUE ROAD WIN OF SEASON AT MESSIAH, 72-68

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Ryan Billet scored 22 points and A.J. Beamer added 16 points and seven rebounds to lead Elizabethtown past Messiah 72-68 in MAC Commonwealth League action on Wednesday. The win was the Blue Jays' first League victory on the road this season and pushed their record to 10-6 overall and 5-3 in the Commonwealth.

Zach Yoder, who had scored 47 points against Widener on January 24, led Messiah (8-10, 2-6) with 14 points while Chad Bowman and David Greenplate added 13 points apiece. Bowman also added nine assists, four steals and seven rebounds while playing all 40 minutes.

Despite shooting only 11-for-27 from the field in the second half, Etown was able to catch the Falcons in the second half by shooting 18-for-19 from the free throw line. Billet finished the night 8-for-10 from the charity stripe while Beamer added a perfect 6-for-6 peformance. As a team, the Jays are currently 18th in the nation in free throw percentage (73.3 percent).

Mark Sweet (11 points) and Adam Weber (ten points) also helped the Etown cause. Larry Johnson pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for the Falcons.

Heading into the final three weeks of the regular season, Etown is tied for third place in the Commonwealth League with Susquehanna. The Blue Jays and Crusaders get together on Saturday, January 31 at Thompson Gym for a 4 p.m. tipoff. Susquehanna won the season's first meeting between the teams, 76-58, on December 6 in Selinsgrove.

Etown (72)
Andros 4-8 0-0 10, Karli 1-3 0-0 2, Billet 6-11 8-10 22, Satelle 0-3 0-0 0, Beamer 5-9 6-6 16, Kernan 0-0 0-0 0, Renfrow 0-0 0-0 0, Weber 4-10 1-1 10, Sweet 4-10 3-4 11, Keiter 1-2 0-0 2. Total: 25-56 18-21 72.

Messiah (68)
Johnson 3-9 1-4 7, Yoder 4-15 2-2 14, C. Bowman 3-7 6-8 13, Snow 3-4 0-0 7, Greenplate 6-12 1-1 13, Schlonecker 1-2 0-0 3, J. Bowman 1-3 0-0 3, Mizener 2-2 0-0 4, Hendrickson 0-3 4-6 4. Total: 23-57 14-21 68.

Three-pointers: Etown 4-10 (Andros 2-3, Billet 2-3, Beamer 0-1, Weber 0-3), Messiah 8-22 (Yoder 4-9, C. Bowman 1-3, Snow 1-2, Greenplate 0-3, Schlonecker 1-1, J. Bowman 1-2, Hendrickson 0-2). Rebounds: Etown 32 (Beamer 7), Messiah 39 (Johnson 7, C. Bowman 7). Assists: Etown 5 (Satelle 2, Andros 2)., Messiah 14 (C. Bowman 9). Turnovers: Etown 15, Messiah 12. Steals: Etown 3 (Andros 1, Satelle 1, Beamer 1), Messiah 6 (C. Bowman 4). Fouls: Etown 18, Messiah 20. Technicals: None. Attendance: 500.