GRANTHAM, Pa. – Falling to the ground, senior Malcolm Covington (Springfield Gardens, N.Y./Blessed Sacrament) lifted a layup that kissed the glass and fell through the net before he added a free throw to give the Lycoming College men's basketball team the last points with 2:45 left, as the Lycoming defense clamped down to clinch a 66-64 Commonwealth Conference win over Messiah College on Wednesday night, Jan. 28, at Brubaker Auditorium.
 
The first-place Warriors (13-6 overall, 8-2 Commonwealth) clamped down on the Falcons (10-8 overall, 3-7 Commonwealth) in the game's final three minutes, forcing five missed shots and a turnover to clinch the win. The Falcons had a chance to tie or win with 30 seconds left after a pair of missed free throws from the Warriors, but all Messiah could manage with the opportunity was a last-second off-balanced 3-pointer against the Warriors' pressure.
 
"When your guys really like each other and have a desire to win, it's a fun thing to watch," Lycoming College head coach Guy Rancourt said. "They refused to get screened on Messiah's last two sets and they refused to let a shot off."
 
A 12-2 run to start the second half helped Lycoming take a 46-36 lead just three minutes in after a 3-pointer from senior Patrick Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood). Five minutes later, sophomore Nykolas King (New York, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science & Math) picked off a pass and rolled coast-to-coast for a dunk to make it 57-44, Lycoming's largest lead of the game.
 
From there, the Falcons went on 16-3 run, with Geoff Boyle putting back a missed shot to help them take a 61-60 lead with 4:30 left. Freshman Issak Bodon (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) answered with a 3-pointer before Zac Hoy gave the Falcons the lead back with 3:39 left, setting up Covington's old-fashioned 3-point play on a give from King to round out the game's scoring.
 
The Warriors jumped out to an 8-2 lead through the first three minutes, with freshman Chris Wallace (Randallstown, Md./Calvert Hall) scoring the first four points of the game. Messiah fought back to take a 9-8 lead, but Lycoming answered and began a 13-6 run that gave them a 21-15 lead with 8:34 left after a jumper from freshman Alex Newbold (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic).
 
The Warriors kept at least a three-point lead from then until a 6-1 run was capped by a 3-pointer from Zac Hoy with 2:43 left gave Messiah a 32-31 lead. Bodon answered with a 3-pointer to make it 34-32, but Messiah scored the last two points of the half to send it into halftime tied at 34.
 
Four Warriors finished with more than 10 points, led by 11 each from Covington and Wallace. Covington also added seven assists and Wallace posted five rebounds and a career-high three blocks. Newbold and Dougher each added 10 points, with Dougher posting a career-high tying seven rebounds and two steals. Newbold also added two steals. Bodon finished with nine points and King added six points, three assists and two steals.
 
Hoy led the Falcons with 18 points and three steals, as he surpassed 1,000 career points in the game. Both David Fernandez-Bravo and Geoff Boyle added 12 points. Fernandez-Bravo also added five assists and seven rebounds and Boyle notched nine rebounds. Luke Cable notched 10 points and three assists.
 
The Warriors host Hood in another Commonwealth Conference doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 31. The women will tip at 1 p.m. before the men at 3 p.m.