WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Will Kelly hit a three-pointer to break a tie with 31 seconds left in the game and the Lycoming men’s basketball team closed the game with a 7-0 run to defeat Widener, 60-53, in a Commonwealth Conference game at Lamade Gymnasium on Saturday, Jan. 11.
The Warriors led by 11 points with three minutes to play before the Pride came storming back with an 11-0 run to tie the game at 53-53 with just over a minute to play.
Eric Anthony (Wheeling, W.V.) hit Kelly (Williamsport, Pa.) at the top of the key and the sophomore forward found the bottom of the net to put Lycoming up 56-53 with 31 seconds left on the clock. Widener would not score again and the Warriors closed out the game with a 7-0 run in the final 31 seconds to seal the 60-53 win.
The victory comes in bitter sweet fashion, as the last time these two teams met on the floor at Lamade Gymnasium was the championship game of the Commonwealth Conference tournament last season. The Pride won that game and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
The Warriors opened the game with the lead and didn’t relinquish it until the halfway mark of the first period. After the lead changed hands four times, Widener took a 28-25 lead into halftime, despite the numbers. Lycoming shot 44.4 percent from the field to Widener’s 29.6 percent and out-rebounded the Pride 25-13. However, the Warriors also turned the ball over 17 times in the first half.
Anthony Watson (Philadelphia, Pa.) hit a three-pointer to open the second half and force the second tie of the game. From there, the Warriors continued to capitalize on Widener turnovers and missed free throws to build up a 12 point lead with 3:35 to play, setting up the wild finish.
Anthony led the Warriors with 14 points, six rebounds and six assists. Jemayne Nowlin (Gaithersburg, Md.) tallied his first double-digit scoring performance of the season, finishing with 10 points. Kelly and Watson each added eight points. Greg Sye (Chantilly, Va.) was held to a season-low five points, but pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
Widener was led by Bobby Edmunds’ 14 points. Matt Sosna and Charles Jones each added eight points.
Defense proved to outweigh offense in a game that saw the top offensive unit in the Commonwealth (Widener, 80.5 ppg) and the top defensive unit (Lycoming, 60.3 ppg). The Warriors held the top-ranked Pride offense to its lowest point total of the season.
Lycoming finished the game shooting 43.8 percent (21-48) from the field to Widener’s 32.1 percent (18-56) and held a 40-32 rebounding advantage. The Pride were 9-of-17 from the free throw line while the Warriors were 12-of-16 at the charity stripe.
With the win, Lycoming improves to 7-5 overall and 1-1 in league play, snapping a two game losing streak. Widener drops to 10-4 overall and 1-1 in league play and had a five game winning streak snapped.
The Warriors will travel to Lebanon Valley on Wednesday, Jan. 15, for a conference matchup with the Dutchmen. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. and will follow the women’s contest at 6 p.m.
