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WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Up 10 points at halftime when the two teams played at Messiah on Dec. 1, the Lycoming College men’s basketball team eventually fell by three points. On Tuesday night, the Warriors returned the favor at Lamade Gym, falling behind by 10 points early in the second half before performing a 23-point swing to take a 68-55 victory from the Falcons at Commonwealth Conference action on Senior Night.

Four Warriors (15-9 overall, 5-9 Commonwealth) finished in double figures, led for the second time in three games by freshman Kevin Anthony (Atlanta, Ga./Bridgton Academy), who posted 22 points and four rebounds.

“Kevin can be as good as he wants to be,” Lycoming head coach Guy Rancourt said. “The light turns on and off and he needs to leave that light on. As the season has gone on, the light seems to stay on. We need him to continue that on Saturday and continue it into the summer and see if we can build on it for next year.”

Senior Will Kelly (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township) added 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds and sophomore Jerald Williams (Riverdale, Md./Bladensburg) flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 14 points, eight assists and a career-high eight steals. Sophomore Ihsaan Davis (Jamaica, N.Y./Christ the King) added 10 points, four rebounds and two dimes.

Williams’ eight steals fell two shy of the school record of 10 set by Geoff Boblick against Juniata on Dec. 6, 1994. It was the second-most in a game in school history.

“Ihsaan Davis said earlier this year that Jerald is the engine that makes us go,” Rancourt said. “I think he showed that again (Tuesday). He’s a difference-maker. When it came down to it at the end of the game, he took it over.”

Down 37-27 with 14:41 left, the Warriors got rolling when Kelly found Davis, who drained a 3-pointer. A Falcons’ miss led to a layup from Kelly on a dish from Williams and another miss led to a pair of free throws that Anthony, who entered the game as a 56-percent shooter from the line, drained and one of Williams’ steals at midcourt led to a fastbreak driving layup from Kelly to cut the lead to a point with 12:51 left.

Andy Hawk hit a layup to get the lead back to three points, but the Warriors would not relent, as Anthony hit a second-chance layup and a block from Kelly led to a fastbreak deuce from Davis on a dish from Williams. Another Falcons turnover led to a cold-hearted 17-footer from Williams and another Williams steal led to a pair more free throws from Anthony, capping off the 17-2 run.

The Falcons (11-12 overall, 6-7 Commonwealth) cut the lead to two points with 9:08 left, but the Warriors responded with four points and responded again when a trey from Trey Ritzman cut the lead to one point with 7:18 left. The Falcons cut the lead back to two points at 54-52 with 4:17 left, but a jumper from Davis started a closing 14-3 run by the Warriors, as they iced the game by hitting eight free throws in the final four minutes.

The Falcons jumped out to a 31-24 lead in the first half, as they shot 52 percent (12-for-23) from the field in the half while holding Lycoming to 33 percent (7-for-21). Messiah scored 18 points in the half and posted 12 points off turnover.

However, after opening the second half on a 6-3 run, the Falcons allowed the Warriors to score 15 points off turnover and eight on the fastbreak in the second half, as the Warriors shot 42 percent (12-for-29) from the field and 76 percent (19-for-25) from the line in the half.

David Fernandez led the Falcons with 20 points, six rebounds, three steals and three blocks and Trey Ritzman added 16 points and two rebounds. Chrisyan Devann added six assists and two steals.

Kelly went a perfect 10-for-10 from the line and Anthony also hit a career-high 10 shots (of 12) from the line.

Before the game, the Warriors honored the team’s three seniors, all of whom have earned at least one nod from the MAC Academic Honor Roll in their careers. Sebastian Sabella (Bayside, N.Y./Episcopal School) and Ethan Lee (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) each started, with Sabella posting three points and five rebounds and Lee playing four minutes.

“I could not ask for three better men than the seniors we have this year,” Rancourt said. “For what they accomplished in the classroom, to taking them overseas to Europe this summer, to finish it off with a win (Tuesday), it was really important. I’m real proud of them.”

The Warriors wrap up their season at Widener on Saturday, Feb. 19 with a Commonwealth Conference doubleheader. The women will tip at 1 p.m. before the men follow at 3 p.m.