Box Score

READING, Pa. – Down by three points with less than a minute left, sophomore Kevin Anthony (Columbus, Ohio/Bridgton Academy) took over for the Lycoming College men’s basketball team, hitting a layup, getting a steal and sealing the come-from-behind win with a free throw, as Lycoming snapped a four-game losing streak against Albright College with an incredible 84-82 win in the Commonwealth Conference opener at the Bollman Center on Wednesday, Nov. 30.
 
Anthony finished with a career-high 28 points, hitting 12-of-14 shots from the field, and added three steals, two rebounds and a block as the Warriors improved to 5-0 overall for the third straight year and won the conference opener for the first time since 2007-08.
 
“Kevin’s done a great job for us,” Lycoming head coach Guy Rancourt said. “He seems to get better as the game gets closer. He’s finally starting to play like the athlete and young man he is. The better Kevin plays, the better team we are.”
 
Down by three points after a layup by Shane Irwin with 57 seconds left, the 2011 Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year hit a layup on a give by 2010 Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year, junior Jerald Williams (Riverdale, Md./Bladensburg) to make it a one-point game at 82-81. Anthony then got a steal in the frontcourt and Williams found senior Mike Bradley (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph’s Prep) in transition for the go-ahead bucket with 28 seconds left.
 
The Lions (3-1 overall, 0-1 Commonwealth) got three chances to win the game after that, but a turnover and two missed shots brought Anthony to the line with 0.2 seconds left and Anthony secured the win by hitting 1-of-2 at the line.
 
“It’s a learning experience,” Rancourt said. “Anytime you win on the road at a place like Albright, it’s great for us. You have to believe in our system for it to work and our guys are really buying in.”
 
Lycoming fell behind by 10 points early in the second half after a layup by Albright’s Cornell Mickens, but it fought back immediately, cutting the lead to two points with an 11-3 run that was capped by a jumper from Anthony. The Lions and Warriors traded buckets three times before a free throw from sophomore Michael Rudy (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) started a five-point spurt that was capped on a layup by junior Ihsaan Davis (Jamaica, N.Y./Christ the King), giving the Warriors a 63-60 lead with 10:33 left.
 
Albright fought back with six straight points, capped by a 3-pointer from Reuel Moore to take a 66-63 lead less than a minute later and then it was Lycoming’s turn to respond, with a layup from Anthony giving the Warriors  67-66 advantage with 7:51 left. Albright scored five in a row to take a four-point advantage, but Lycoming fought back to tie it at 75 with 3:42 left.
 
Derek Hall hit a jumper to give the Lions a two-point lead and a free throw got the lead to three points before each team traded buckets and free throws until Irwin’s layup made it 82-79 with 57 seconds left.
 
Both teams went out of the gates running in the first half, with Albright shooting 59 percent (17-of-29) from the field and Lycoming keeping pace at 57 percent (16-for-28). The Lions jumped out to a 7-0 lead and expanded it to 13-4 before a 3-pointer from senior center Mike Bradley (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph’s Prep) stopped the run.
 
The Lions got the lead back to eight points at 22-14 after a 3-pointer from Tom Paul, but the Warriors responded with a 7-1 run to close within two points at 23-21 after a jumper by junior Anthony Martin (Detroit, Mich./Christ the King). Albright responded, though, expanding the lead to 12 points at 37-25 with 7:03 left. Lycoming closed the gap to five with seven straight points, capped by a fastbreak dunk from Anthony with 6:05 left in the half.
 
From there the teams kept running, with Albright extending the lead back to nine before Lycoming cut it back to five on a jumper by Martin with 1:52 left. The Lions closed the half with three free throws to take a 49-41 lead into the break.
 
Martin finished with 18 points in his first collegiate start and added three steals and Williams added 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Rudy posted nine points, including two 3-pointers, and Bradley notched eight points and four rebounds. Davis posted five points, three assists and two steals.
 
Kyle Jordan led the Lions with 15 points and 11 rebounds and Mickens added 15 points. Shane Irwin posted 13 points and three assists and Moore posted 11 points. Sam Marella posted six assists and Hall added eight points and eight rebounds.
 
Lycoming shot 55 percent (35-of-64) from the field in the contest and forced 24 points off turnover while scoring 52 points in the paint. Albright finished at 53 percent (30-for-57) from the floor and hit seven more free throws while grabbing 10 more rebounds, but Lycoming forced seven more turnovers and scored eight more points off turnover.
 
Lycoming will head back to Reading on Saturday, Dec. 3, when it heads to Alvernia for a Commonwealth Conference doubleheader with the men set to start at 3 p.m. after the women’s teams play at 1 p.m.