WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Both juniors Nykolas King (Harlem, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science & Math) and David Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Communications Tech) finished with 18 points to lead the Lycoming College men's basketball team, but a late rally fell short for Lycoming as it dropped an 81-77 decision to a streaking Arcadia University team in MAC Commonwealth action on Wednesday night, Dec. 9, at Lamade Gym.
 
The two teams battled through 12 lead changes and six ties, despite Lycoming (5-2 overall, 2-1 MAC Commonwealth) shooting 10 percent worse than Arcadia (7-2 overall, 2-1 MAC Commonwealth). The Warriors stayed in the game thanks to a 46-36 advantage on the glass and advantages in points in the paint (30-24), off turnover (12-4) and second-chance points (18-6).
 
Down by seven points with 2:49 left, the Warriors rallied thanks to a free throw from King before Johnson got a rebound and transitioned it into a layup with 2:09 left to make it 75-71. After another Arcadia miss, King ran the length of the floor, was fouled and converted two more free throws to make it 75-73 with 1:21 left.
 
The Warriors played great defense on the next possession, but Josh Scott hit an off-balance jumper from the elbow that just rattled through with 55 seconds left. King drove in again and was fouled with 41 seconds left before he hit a pair of free throws to again make it a two-point game.
 
Arcadia moved through a press quickly and Phil Pierfy was there to putback a miss to help seal the win with 30 seconds left. A steal at midcourt led to two free throws for the Knights to make it 81-75 with 13 seconds left before Johnson got a second-chance layup with a single tick left to round out the scoring.
 
The two teams battled through two ties and six lead changes in the first half, with Lycoming taking its largest lead of four points at 6-2 just 2:30 into the half. The Knights, which led the half for 13 minutes, took their largest lead at seven points with 4:10 remaining after a layup by Josh Scott made it 32-25. The Warriors responded, though, with an 8-2 run to cut the Knights' lead to a single point with 47 seconds left after a pair of free throws from King, but John Landro hit his fourth 3-pointer of the half to help the Knights take a 39-35 lead into the locker room.
 
Arcadia shot 50 percent (15-of-30) in the first half, including 46 percent from 3-point range (6-of-13), while Lycoming stayed in the game by scoring eight points off turnover and seven on second-chance opportunities.
 
Lycoming fell behind by six early in the second half, but fought back to take a three-point lead after a driving layup by sophomore Alex Newbold (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) made it 46-43 with 15:57 left. The bucket started a run of five lead changes and four ties before Arcadia went on a 6-0 run speared by four points from Pierfy to make it 62-56 with 8:28 left. The Warriors cut the lead to a single possession twice in the next four minutes, but could get no closer, setting up the finish.
 
King notched nine rebounds and hit 10-of-12 at the free throw line to get his 18 points and Johnson added six rebounds and three assists. Newbold also finished with 14 points and two steals and sophomore Chris Wallace (Randallstown, Md./Calvert Hall) fought through foul trouble to finish with nine points and five rebounds.
 
John Landro led the Knights with 22 points and five 3-pointers and Josh Scott added 21 points, thanks to an 11-of-11 performance at the free-throw line. Pierfy finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds and Ryan Kelley added 10 points, four assists and two steals. Kyle Reilly notched five points and four blocks, as Arcadia blocked eight shots in the game.
 
The Warriors get back on the court on Saturday, Dec. 12, when they host Gordon College in non-conference action at 3 p.m.