PITTSBURGH, Pa. – In a tune-up for the regular season, the Lycoming College men’s basketball team faced a stiff test in Division I Duquesne, which like the Warriors love to run a fast-breaking offense and a high-pressure defense. On Monday night, Nov. 8, that pressure helped the Dukes post a 118-65 exhibition win at the Palumbo Center.
The Warriors had a chance to tune-up for the 2010-11 season in which the team is predicted to finish second in the Commonwealth Conference and the team saw action from 13 players on its roster in the game.
“Duquesne is a good team,” Lycoming head coach Guy Rancourt said. “This was a learning experience. We have some things that we need to work on. I wanted to see improvement in the second half and I think we did better with taking care of the ball. The level of athlete they have wore us down as the game went on.”
Lycoming started off the game strong after the team’s battled to a 7-7 tie with 17:38 left in the first half by going on a 10-4 run led by five points from junior Mike Bradley (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph’s Prep) to take a 17-11 lead with 13:03 left in the half. The Warriors stayed in the fight, taking a 24-21 lead after a fastbreak dunk by freshman Kevin Anthony (Atlanta, Ga./Bridgton Academy), but the Dukes took control soon after, igniting on a 33-11 run that lasted the rest of the half to take a 54-35 lead into the locker room. In the second half, the Dukes scored 64 points and shot 71 percent from the field, while the Warriors shot 31 percent to score 30 points.
Bradley led the Warriors with 12 points and four rebounds and Anthony added nine points, five rebounds, two steals and a block. Freshman Justin Miller (Agawam, Mass./Bridgton Academy) added nine points, five rebounds, a block and a steal and three players, senior Will Kelly (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township), sophomore Ihsaan Davis (Jamaica, N.Y./Christ The King) and senior Sebastian Sabella (Bayside, N.Y./Episcopal School) added eight points. Davis and Kelly each canned two three-pointers and Davis posted five rebounds.
Freshman Michael Rudy (Danville, Pa./Danville) led the Warriors with seven boards and he added six points, two assists and a block and sophomore Jerald Williams (Riverdale, Md./ Bladensburg) posted five assists and four rebounds.
The Dukes were led by 18 points from Bill Clark and Jerry Jones and T.J. McConnell added 16 points, 10 steals and eight assists. Andre Marhold added 10 points and 12 rebounds and Mike Talley posted 17 points and 10 assists as the Dukes shot 60 percent from the floor.
The Warriors get back on the court when they open the 2010-11 regular season against Pitt-Bradford on Monday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. at Lamade Gymnasium.
