ELKHART - LaVille traveled to Elkhart Christian Academy for its non-conference high school basketball game Saturday. When the Lancers entered the new gymnasium in Elkhart, the atmosphere had that big game feel. Large crowd, spacious arena and loud music to set the stage. And the game did not disappoint. Both teams battled back and forth before LaVille hit some timely free throws down the stretch as the Lancers pulled away for a 50-40 victory. LaVille got into some foul trouble early on, leading coach Michael Edison to go to his bench for crucial minutes. What Edison got was a solid effort from the guys called upon. "We had some players that don't necessarily get a lot of time that stepped up big tonight!" said Edison, who watched his team improve to 7-5 overall. "Ryan Maenhout and Jackson McNerney played some big minutes for us! " Meanhout and McNerney played in all four quarters, with the former scoring six big points, a couple of steals, an assist, and a huge block. McNerney, meanwhile, got a big assist from Collin Czarnecki on a bucket to go with two key rebounds. "ECA played extremely hard and it was a very physical game," explained Edison. "We had to fight the entire game to be able to pull that one off." Czarnecki led all scorers with 31 points. Andre Gonzales had six points to go with six rebounds, while Lance Edison added five rebounds, four steals and four assists. LaVille returns to action Tuesday, January 21 against New Prairie in the opening round of the 60th Everwise Bi-County Basketball Tournament. LAVILLE 50, ELKHART CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 40 At Elkhart Score By Quarters LaVille 8 19 28 50 ECA 6 12 26 40 LaVille - André Gonzales 6, Lance Edison 3, Cody Allen 0, Travis Madondo 2, Collin Czarnecki 31, Ryan Maenhout 6, Jackson McNerney 2, Aaron Keb 0, Avery Garrett 0. Totals: 18 12-15 ECA - Justin Annan 6, Jaden Vida 5, Lewy Eyob 8, Reid Hoober 5, Liam Elkins 0, Kian Hibbard 1, Ace Haviland 3, Hayden Henbsler 12. Totals: 15 7-18 40 3-point field goals: LaVille 2 (Czarnecki 2) , ECA 3 (Vida, Eyob, Hoober) Team records: LaVille 7-5, ECA 3-9 Next game: New Prairie at LaVille in 1st round of Everwise Bi-County Tournament, Jan. 21. JV score: LaVille 32 (Dylan Miller 13), ECA 29 (Gavin Clapsaddle 9)