ANNVILLE, Pa. – Sophomore Nykolas King (New York, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science & Math) continued his ascent into being an elite player in the Commonwealth Conference, as he finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season to lead the Lycoming College men's basketball team to a 76-69 win over second-place Lebanon Valley in Commonwealth Conference action at LVC Gymnasium on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
 
King's double-double was his second in three games, as he led an aggressive Warrior effort that held a 46-30 advantage on the glass and 16-9 in turnovers, which helped the team finish with a 36-26 advantage in points in the paint and 22-7 in points off turnover.
 
Four other Warriors (10-5 overall, 6-1 Commonwealth) finished in double figures as they took a 1.5 game lead in the Commonwealth Conference standings with the win over the Dutchmen (10-5 overall, 4-2 Commonwealth). Senior Malcolm Covington (Springfield Gardens, N.Y./Blessed Sacrament) finished with 11 points and nine assists and freshman Issak Bodon (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) posted 15 points, two steals and three 3-pointers. Senior Patrick Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood) added 10 points and two steals as he crossed 700 career points and freshman Alex Newbold (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) also added 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
"Nyk really present a multitude of issues for an opponent," Lycoming head coach Guy Rancourt said. "He can step back and shoot it and he can mix it up inside. He finishes with guys five-six-seven inches bigger than him around the rim. It's hard to give him all the credit, though, with Malcolm Covington and Issak Bodon playing so hard.
 
The Warriors broke open a terse second-half filled with five ties and nine lead changes when King scored a layup on a dish from Bodon with 3:01 left. After a steal by Covington, King got a second-change bucket with 1:58 left. The Dutchmen cut the lead to two with a pair of free throws, but Dougher canned a trifecta on a dish from Covington with 90 seconds left and moments later and with 49 seconds left, Bodon hit a pair of free throws to make it a 73-66 lead.
 
Zach Mrozek hit the Dutchmen's 12^th 3-pointer of the game to cut the lead to four points, but Lycoming's Dougher hit 3-of-4 at the line in the last 32 seconds to seal the win.
 
Lebanon Valley took a seven-point lead in the first 2:30 minutes of the second half, but Lycoming fought back with a 10-2 run to take a 46-45 lead with 14:04 left on a pair of free throws from King. After fighting through several ties and lead changes, King took control with six straight points to give the Warriors a 59-53 lead with 9:15 left.
 
The Dutchmen fought back to tie the game at 61 before a layup by Nick Pappas with 4:29 left gave them a two-point lead with 4:29 left. The Warriors answered on the next possession, with freshman Darius James (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) drilling a 3-pointer to take the lead. After a Dutchmen free throw tied the game, the Warriors started their game-ending 12-5 run.
 
The two teams battled through four ties and five lead changes in the opening seven minutes, with freshman Justin Iton (Hackensack, N.J./Dwight Morrow) scoring on back-to-back layups to give Lycoming a 13-11 lead with 13:06 left, but Kevin Agnew hit three straight 3-pointers to start an 11-0 run for the Dutchmen that gave it a 22-13 lead with 10:19 left.
 
Lycoming responded with a pair of 3-pointers, one from Bodon and one from freshman Casey Vickers (Terre Haute, Ind./Bridgton Academy) to cut the lead to three points. The Warriors got within three points once more before an 11-4 gave Lebanon Valley a 38-25 lead with 3:56 left.
 
The Warriors cut the lead down to four by the end of the period, though, scoring the last nine points in the half, with Covington rallying the squad with the last seven points of the period to make it 38-34 at the break.
 
Agnew, a returning All-American, finished with 24 points and five assists and Andy Orr posted 17 points and five rebounds. Both Mrozek and Travis Conrad added nine points. The Dutchmen shot 50 percent (26-of-52) from the field and 46 percent (12-of-26) from 3-point range, but were hampered by the Warriors' advantage in rebounding and turnovers.
 
The Warriors get back on the court on Saturday, Jan. 17, when they end the first half of the Commonwealth Conference season by facing Stevenson in an afternoon doubleheader. The women tip at 1 p.m. before the men tip at 3 p.m.