Allentown, PA - Cedar Crest sought to bounce back from a loss at Wilkes on Monday with a non-conference game at home against the Patriots of Valley Forge Christian College on Wednesday. Despite a few rocky patches, the Falcons prevailed by a score of 53-47.

Last year's meeting was a narrow 65-60 Cedar Crest victory, and tonight's game looked to be another close one right from the start as Valley Forge jumped out to a 9-3 lead. After a Falcon timeout to settle the troops, Cedar Crest freshman DeJanet Lantion (Silver Spring, MD/John F. Kennedy) dropped in the next six points to close the gap, and junior Megan DeMutis (Norristown, PA/Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic) hit a three-pointer to take the lead. Both teams traded baskets for a while, and the Falcons gradually pulled out to an eight-point lead. It looked as though that would be the halftime margin, but DeMutis scored a quick five points at the close of the half to give Cedar Crest a 33-20 lead at the break. DeMutis had 11 first-half points.

Although sophomore Amber Wehry (Klingerstown, PA/Tri-Valley Jr/Sr) hit a jumper at the start of the second half to stretch the lead to 15, which was the largest lead of the game, a spurt of cold shooting allowed the Patriots to post a 13-0 run over the next 6:00 or so and cut the lead to two. Once again it was DeMutis to the rescue, with another three-pointer to give the Falcons some breathing room. DeMutis finished with 16 points.

Valley Forge pressed on, getting within three points on several occasions as the clock ticked on, then finally cutting the lead to one on a Kaitlyn Antolic bucket with 4:03 to go. But Cedar Crest was able to keep the Patriots at arm's length until Valley Forge was forced to foul, and the Falcons made their free throws when it counted to secure the 53-47 victory.

DeMutis and Lizzy Sunderhaus (Hamilton, OH/Stephen T. Badin) led all scorers with 16 apiece, and Wehry led all rebounders with nine. Valley Forge's Amanda Compton led the Patriots with 11 points and 7 rebounds.

Cedar Crest improves to 4-15 on the season and remains 1-9 in the Colonial States Athletic Conference. Valley Forge drops to 9-13. Next up, the Falcons will host CSAC opponent Philadelphia Biblical University on Saturday, January 28th, at 1:00 PM.