Box Score

GLENSIDE, Pa. – With an inside game that posted 40 points in the form of senior Will Kelly (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township) and junior Mike Bradley (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph’s Prep), the Lycoming College men’s basketball team shot a season-high 61 percent from the field en route to a 79-70 Commonwealth Conference win over Arcadia University on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 15.

The Warriors (12-4 overall, 2-3 Commonwealth Conference) withstood a 13-4 run by the Knights (4-10 overall, 0-5 Commonwealth) late in the second half to hold on for the win, hitting all four of its free throws in the final three minutes.

“They play tough,” Lycoming head coach Guy Rancourt said. “We had to address that at halftime – how tough were we playing? They did a great job matching our intensity. We had to go deep into our roster to make sure we were fresh late in the game”

Lycoming, who held a 35-25 rebounding advantage and hit a stellar 28-of-46 from the field, was led by 24 points from Kelly, who moved within 50 of the 1,000-career point mark, as he finished the contest with 952 points. He hit 10-of-13 shots from the field and added five rebounds and a block. Bradley, coming off the bench, added 16 points and eight rebounds off a 5-of-9 game from the floor along with a perfect 6-of-6 effort from the free-throw line.

“Mike did a great job today,” Rancourt said. “He had to fill-in a little different role and he gave us everything we wanted.”

After the Knights closed within three points at 42-39 early in the second half, the Warriors began a steady 18-2 run that was started by a trey from Kelly, who had seven points in the run, and capped by a pair of free throws from freshman Tyrone McFadden (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) that made it 60-41 with 11:32 left.

The Knights whittled the lead to nine  points with 8:32 left, but the Warriors, led by four points from Bradley got the lead back to 14 at 69-55 just 75 seconds later, setting up the Knights’ 13-4 run that made it 73-68 with 3:02 left after an old-fashioned 3-point play from Aaron Benusis.

A pair of free throws from sophomore Ihsaan Davis (Jamaica, N.Y./Christ the King) and a jumper from Kelly answered the Knights’ run, though, and both teams traded two free throws in the final minute to make up the final margin.

The two teams went through six ties and four lead changes in the first 10 minutes of the opening half before the Warriors went on a 9-0 run to take a 26-18 lead with 7:46 left in the half after a layup from McFadden. The Knights closed within four points twice, but a layup by freshman Kevin Anthony (Atlanta, Ga./Bridgton Academy) extended the Warriors’ lead to 34-25 with 1:08 left in the half. A pair of Knights’ layups helped close the gap and send the teams to the locker room with Lycoming holding a 34-29 advantage.

The Knights cut the lead to two points early in the second half before Lycoming got the lead to eight points after a layup from Bradley. The Knights scored five straight to cut the lead to three points with 15:42 left after a 3-pointer from Damian Palantino, setting up the Warriors’ definitive run.

Davis finished with 14 points, hitting 4-of-5 from the field and all four free throws, and three assists and Anthony notched five points, nine rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Jerald Williams (Riverdale, Md./Bladensburg) added five points and six assists, moving into sixth in school history with 118 assists this year.

Damian Palantino led the Knights with 18 points and Colin McCarthy added 14 points. Aaron Benusis posted 12 points, six blocks and five rebounds. Jason Thompson also added nine points, four steals and three assists.

The Warriors stay on the road for a doubleheader at Elizabethtown on Wednesday, Jan. 19, with the women’s teams tipping at 6 p.m. and the men’s teams starting at 8 p.m.