Good things often come in threes: Wise Men, musketeers, French hens, etc.

Friday night at Conestoga Valley, Elizabethtown's boys' basketball team found good fortune in threes: Clutch 3-pointers from guard Kasey Koser.

Koser scored 18 to tie his brother Tyler for game-high honors, and Tyler grabbed a game- and season-high 14 rebounds as the Bears beat the Buckskins, 60-55, in their battle for first place in L-L Section Two.

"It seemed like he hit big shots at critical parts of the game," CV coach Brad Herr said of Kasey. "He was able to make shots on the move, off the dribble, pull-up (jumpers).

"His shots were huge."

Kasey's initial 3-pointer came on his first attempt of the night, from the right wing less than two minutes into the game. But it was his three 3-pointers in the third quarter that not only energized E-town (7-5 L-L, 11-6 overall) but also served to slow CV (6-6, 7-11).

"They started getting back into it," Kasey said. "We had to keep our composure.

"(The 3-pointers) felt pretty good. If I hit my first few threes, I get pretty confident."

"Kasey did a great job tonight," Bears boss Kevin Dolan said. "When they started coming back, he would stop them. He hit some big threes, settled us down."

Trailing by nine at the close of the first quarter, and by 14 at halftime and again late in the third quarter following Kasey's trey, the Bucks rode a 12-0 run fueled by Rob Cardina (team-high 17 points), Manoli Tsoflias (14) and Louis Swan (six points, three steals).

Kasey gave the Bears a big lift by beating the buzzer with a corner trey to make it 45-40 E-town heading into the fourth.

CV made another run midway through the final quarter. Limited to two points in the first half, Cardina caught fire in the second half. He scored CV's final nine points of the night, and his clutch shooting made it a one-possession game on three occasions in the final four minutes.

"Our guys showed a tremendous amount of guts," Herr said. "To E-town's credit, they made shots when they had to."

Indeed. Tyler Koser's layup with 15 seconds remaining restored the Bears' lead at four, and Lucas Jewell hit a free throw with two ticks left to clinch the win.

"All in all, we played a good game," said Dolan, who acknowledged that the Bears' play Friday marked a huge departure from their first meeting with CV, a 67-35 Buckskin victory Jan. 3 in E-town.

"I don't know which team showed up (for the first game)," Dolan said. "We didn't play at all. They just took us apart."

Herr remembered it a bit differently.

"There wasn't as much disparity as the score would indicate," he said. "We had a great night, they had an off night and that led to a 32-point game.

"Tonight was a role reversal."

The die was cast early. The Bears clamped down defensively on Cardina, who scored a game-high 23 in their previous meeting. He hit the game's first field goal Friday but didn't score again until the third quarter.

"We tried to put a little more pressure on Cardina," said Dolan. "He had an easy 23 (Jan. 3)."

Nothing came easy Friday, not for the Bears or the Bucks.

But at least in E-town's case, things did come in threes. And that proved to be enough.

Notes: Anthony Brown added 10 points for CV. … Herr said Bucks guard Nathan Cody suffered a concussion when he hit the floor with 55 seconds left in the first half. Herr expects Cody to be sidelined for at least a week.

egruver@lnpnews.com