ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, November 28, 1998

ETOWN SLOWS DOWN EMU OFFENSE IN 81-68 WIN; WEBER, SWEET PACE JAYS TO SUCCESSFUL HOME OPENER

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Adam Weber (Stroudsburg, Pa./Pocono Mountain) scored 22 points and Mark Sweet (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds to lead Elizabethtown past Eastern Mennonite, 81-68, in non-league action on Saturday.  With the win, the Blue Jays improved to 3-1 on the season.

A.J. Beamer (New Holland, Pa./Garden Spot) scored 16 points and Kevin Cristofoletti (Kendall Park, N.J./Notre Dame) added a career-high 12 points as Etown held the high-flying Royals 32 points below their early-season scoring average of 100.7 points per game.

Mike McElroy (Buena Vista, Va./Parry McCluer) led four scorers in double figures with 18 points for Eastern Mennonite (3-1).  Matt Yoder (Linville, Va./Broadway) added 16 points and Keion Green (Philadelphia, Pa./Christopher Dock) chipped in with 14 points for the Royals.

Trailing 58-57 after a McElroy basket with 6:58 remaining, the Blue Jays scored 24 of the game's final 34 points down the stretch to ice their season opener.

Ryan Renfrow (Norrisville, Md./North Harford) put Etown ahead for good with a driving layup and Beamer followed with two of his eight free throws to make it 61-58 with 6:31 left.   After Renfrow and Yoder traded field goals, Beamer canned a jumper and Sweet stroked two charity tosses to give the Jays a 67-60 lead with 2:44 left.

Green answered with a bucket for Eastern Mennonite, but Beamer responded with a layup and Weber followed a McElroy free throw with a backbreaking three-pointer that gave Etown a 72-63 edge with 1:23 left.  The Jays sealed the game in the final minute by shooting 7-for-8 from the free throw line.

The Royals charged out of the gate in game's opening minutes, taking a 20-11 lead with 13:50 left before halftime thanks to six points apiece from McElroy and Green.  Etown trailed 27-20 with 9:22 left in the half before going on a 12-4 run to take its first lead since the game's opening basket.

Etown held Eastern Mennonite to 25-for-57 (43.9 percent) shooting on the afternoon.  The Blue Jays shot only 25-for-63 (39.6 percent) from the floor but went 27-for-37 from the free throw line to make the difference in the game.

After averaging 7.7 points off the bench in 1997-98, Weber has scored 20 or more points in three of his first four games this season.  Sweet's previous career-best rebound total was 14 boards in a 73-69 win over Lebanon Valley on February 11, 1998.

Etown returns to action on Wednesday, December 2 in its MAC Commonwealth League opener against Messiah College.  Game time is 8 p.m.  The Royals open their '98-99 home slate on Monday, November 30 against Virginia Wesleyan in a 7:30 p.m. start.

Eastern Mennonite (68)
Green 6-13 0-2 14, Coleman 0-0 0-0 0, Bowman 0-0 0-0 0, Werner 0-2 0-0 0, Kauffman 4-11 2-2 13, Perrow 0-2 0-1 0, Yoder 5-9 5-6 16, Swartzentruber 0-0 0-0 0, Caldwell 2-3 1-2 5, Longacre 1-4 0-0 2, McElroy 7-8 4-7 18, Lewis 0-5 0-0 0. Totals: 25-57 12-20 68.

Elizabethtown (81)
Nikoloff 0-1 2-2 2, Schmoyer 1-2 3-7 5, Sattele 3-6 0-0 6, Cristofoletti 4-8 2-2 12, Unruh 1-9 1-1 3, Beamer 4-8 8-10 16, Renfrow 3-6 0-1 6, Weber 7-13 6-6 22, Sweet 2-7 5-8 9, Werdt 0-3 0-0 0, Kistler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-63 27-37 81.

Three-pointers: EMU 6-22 (Green 2-6, Werner 0-2, Kauffman 3-9, Perrow 0-1, Yoder 1-4), Etown 4-16 (Schmoyer 0-1, Cristofoletti 2-5, Unruh 0-2, Beamer 0-1, Renfrow 0-1, Weber 2-5, Werdt 0-1).  Rebounds: EMU 41 (Lewis 8), Etown 41 (Sweet 17).  Assists: EMU 10 (Kauffman 2, Longacre 2, McElroy 2), Etown 14 (Schmoyer 4).  Turnovers: EMU 16, Etown 14.  Steals: EMU 5 (Five tied with 1), Etown 8 (Unruh 2, Sweet 2).  Fouls: EMU 31, Etown 20.  Technicals: EMU bench.  Attendance: 300.