WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Freshman Issak Bodon (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) hit six of his seven 3-pointers in the first half to help the Lycoming College men's basketball team take a 32-point lead into halftime and cruise to a 96-78 Commonwealth Conference win over Hood College on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, at Lamade Gym.
 
Bodon finished with a career-high 24 points and seven 3-pointers in nine attempts, as the Warriors improved to 14-6 overall and 9-2 in the Commonwealth Conference, entering the final five games of the season with a 1.5 lead in the league standings. The team's magic number to reach the conference playoffs for the fourth time in head coach Guy Rancourt's seven years is now two.
 
Freshman Alex Newbold (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) added a career-high tying 16 points and seven rebounds to go with three assists and two steals and senior Patrick Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood) added 13 points and three 3-pointers, as the team shot 11-of-18 from beyond the arc.
 
In all 14 of the team's 16 players found the scoring column, as sophomore Nykolas King (New York, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science & Math) posted six assists and Bodon added a team-best three steals. The Warriors shot 50 percent from the field (32-of-64), including a sensational 60 percent (21-of-35) in the first half.
 
 The Warriors, who fell to the Blazers, 72-70 on Dec. 6 at Hood, started the game on an 11-1 run, scoring five points in transition against the pressing Blazers (9-11 overall, 5-6 Commonwealth) and kept shooting from there, expanding the lead to 29-8 with 12:03 left in the game, as Bodon hit his second 3-pointer to cap that run.
 
"Alex Newbold is a major reason we got out to that early start," Lycoming head coach Guy Rancourt said. "His energy and disruption on the defensive end didn't allow Hood to get in the flow early on. We were worried about their concerned with their transition and penetration. They hurt us extensively in transition the last time we played them. They attacked us in the half-court and full-court. We needed to try and make sure that wasn't happening and then we built from there."
 
The pressure didn't stop, though, and a fourth Bodon 3-pointer made it 40-14 with 9:01 left and his fifth made it 50-20 with 4:26 left in the half. The Warriors continued to dominate, finishing with 18 fastbreak points and 19 points off turnover in the half, with Dougher hitting a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left in the half to make it 59-24 before a Hood 3-pointer answered before the break.
 
In the second half, the Warriors got the lead to as many as 40 points after a layup from freshman Justin Iton (Hackensack, N.J./Dwight Morrow) at 82-42 with 11:14 left before the team emptied the bench, as all 16 Warriors played at least four minutes. Hood finally found its footing in those final minutes, going on a 36-14 run to close the game.
 
Iton finished with nine points and four rebounds, crossing 100 points on the season and becoming the fourth Warrior freshman to reach the mark this year. Freshman Chris Wallace (Randallstown, Md./Calvert Hall) added eight points and freshman Roger Wilson (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township) added five points.
 
Chris Cook led the Blazers with 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Tanner Ruths notched three steals and Malik Harris finished with seven points.
 
The Warriors get back on the court on Wednesday, Feb. 4, when they head to Widener for a Commonwealth Conference doubleheader. The women will tip at 6 p.m. before the men play at 8 p.m.