WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Senior Malcolm Covington (Springfield Gardens, N.Y./Blessed Covenant) notched five points in overtime and sophomore Nykolas King (New York, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science & Math) iced the game away by hitting two free throws with 7.1 seconds left to seal an 81-78 Commonwealth Conference win over Albright College on Wednesday night, Jan. 7.
 
The Warriors (8-5 overall, 4-1 Commonwealth) took the lead in the overtime, as freshman Chris Wallace (Randallstown, Md./Calvert Hall) hit a jumper off the glass, then off the inbounds, Covington stole the pass, then drove into the paint where he was met by two defenders. Losing his balance, Covington flipped up a turnaround shot as he fell to the floor. The ball slid off the glass and in.
 
After both teams traded buckets, Covington drove the lane again, getting fouled and hitting a layup with 2:49 left to give Lycoming a 75-70 lead. The Lions (6-6 overall, 2-2 Commonwealth) scored the next four points, taking the clock under two minutes. After both teams scored a pair of points, freshman Alex Newbold (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) drove in for a layup, blowing past three defenders. The Lions responded, as Omari Ringgold hit a layup with 41 seconds left to make it 79-78.
 
The Warriors milked the shot clock down, and the game clock, to 10 seconds before King pulled in a big offensive rebound off a missed 3-pointer. When he was fouled, he hit both free throws, and Albright was forced to take a 3-pointer, which fell off the rim as time expired, securing the Warriors' first win over Albright in Lamade Gym in six meetings.
 
King finished with his third double-double of the season, notching a career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds, as well as three steals and two assists. Wallace added 17 points and two rebounds and Covington posted 11 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals. Newbold added nine points and seven rebounds and freshman Justin Iton (Hackensack, N.J./Dwight Morrow) added eight points, five rebounds and two blocks.
 
Lycoming started the second half with a 14-4 run to expand a two-point halftime lead to 12 points at 49-37 with 14:51 left. The Lions worked the lead down to four points with 10:42 left , but Lycoming was able to get it back to nine just 40 seconds later when freshman Issak Boden (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) drilled a 3-pointer as King was fouled off the ball, leading to a unique five-point play.
 
The Lions responded with an eight-point run to make it 57-56 with 7:21 left and took the lead two minutes later as Evan Ward converted a traditional 3-point play. A layup by Evan Dunn with 3:20 left expanded the lead to three points. Lycoming struggled from the field in the half, hitting 27 percent from the field and that continued, but a pair of free throws cut the lead to one with 1:48 left and a steal by Newbold led to him being sent to the line, where he drilled two more free throws with 1:34 left to give Lycoming a 65-64 lead. Another free throw by King with 49 seconds left gave Lycoming a 66-64 lead, but a Lycoming foul with two seconds left sent Ringgold to the line, where he hit both free throws and sent the game to overtime.
 
Albright started the game with a 10-1 run, but Lycoming was able to close within four points at 16-12 with 10:36 left. The Lions got the lead back to seven at 23-16, but the Warriors responded with seven straight points, tying the game when junior Armani Taylor (Upper Marlboro, Md./Bowie) completed a traditional 3-point play with 5:02 left. The teams traded four ties and three lead changes after that before the half, with Covington providing the final one when he hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left, giving Lycoming a 35-33 lead.
 
Evan Ward notched 21 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals and Gilberto Benz added 16 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three assists to lead the Lions. DeJuan Smith added 13 points and two steals.
 
The Warriors get back on the court on Saturday, Jan. 10, when they head to Arcadia for another Commonwealth Conference doubleheader. The men will tip at 1 p.m. before the women play at 3 p.m.