WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – After forcing one of Lebanon Valley's 20 second-half turnovers while holding a slim one-point lead, the Lycoming College men's basketball team responded as freshman T.J. Duckett (Severna Park, Md./Calvert Hall) drained a 3-pointer from the right baseline while being fouled with 2:54 left, helping Lycoming break away from Lebanon Valley for a 96-87 MAC Commonwealth win on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 16, at Lamade Gym.
 
Duckett's bucket started a closing 18-10 run that helped the Warriors (13-3 overall, 6-2 MAC Commonwealth) claim a half-game lead in the MAC Commonwealth as the first half of the regular season draws to a close, while Lebanon Valley (11-5 overall, 5-2 MAC Commonwealth) and Arcadia (12-4 overall, 5-2 MAC Commonwealth) will have a conference game on Wednesday night, Jan. 20, while Lycoming steps out of conference play to face Penn State Altoona at 6 p.m.
 
Duckett completed the four-point play to give Lycoming an 82-77 lead. The Flying Dutchmen cut the lead down to three points after a pair of free throws, but Duckett responded with a pair of free throws himself before a steal by junior Nykolas King (Harlem, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science & Math) led to a bucket by sophomore Alex Newbold (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic). A missed layup for LVC led to another fastbreak chance, with junior David Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Communications Tech) heaving a 50-foot pass to a streaking Newbold for another lay-in to make it 88-79 with 1:46 left.
 
The Dutchmen cut the lead back to five with a three-point play from Andy Orr, the MAC Commonwealth's top scorer, but Lycoming hit 8-of-10 at the line in the final 90 seconds to salt it away.
 
Both teams shot better than 50 percent in the offensive battle, with Lycoming shooting a season-best 51.4 percent (37-of-72) from the floor, as four players finished in double figures. King led the way with a career-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds and Duckett finished with 18 points, four 3-pointers, four assists and three steals. Johnson added 17 points, a career-high eight assists and four steals and Newbold posted 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
The Warriors took a 1-0 lead after a free throw by Duckett with 19:45 left and lost the lead just once in the high-scoring game, when the Dutchmen used a 12-4 run to make it 24-23 with 12:53 left in the first half after a layup by Sam Light. Senior John Monkam (Lanham, Md./DuVal) responded with a  layup off a give from King and a steal by Johnson led to a nifty fastbreak bucket to start a 18-9 run, which gave Lycoming its largest lead of the first half at 42-32 with 7:09 left.
 
The Dutchmen cut the lead down to three points with 2:13 left in the half, but the Warriors finished strong, using a three-point play by freshman Calvin Chandler (Lake Worth, Fla./Park Vista) and a layup by King to give Lycoming a 55-47 lead at the break.
 
Both teams were on fire in the first half, with Lebanon Valley shooting 64 percent (14-of-22) while Lycoming held its own at 61 (23-of-38). The Warriors were able to keep the lead thanks to a 16-11 advantage on the glass and a 9-5 advantage in turnovers.
 
The Warriors started the second half strong, building the lead to 16 points after a fastbreak bucket by Duckett after a steal from Newbold made it 69-53 with 14:38 left. The Warriors maintained that lead for much of the next five minutes, with Johnson canning a 3-pointer with 10:51 left to make it 76-61.
 
Like any top contender will do, though, the Dutchmen fought back, 16-2 run over the next 6:33 to make it a one-point game after a 3-pointer from Sam Light, but Duckett answered the call three possessions later to ensure the Warrior win.
 
Sophomore Chris Wallace (Randallstown, Md./Calvert Hall) and Chandler each finished with eight points, as Wallace also added four rebounds and two blocks.
 
Andy Orr led the Dutchmen with 27 points, 10 rebounds and three assists and Light added 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Zach Mrozek posted 10 points and seven assists and Travis Conrad, son of former Lycoming coach Terry Conrad, provided eight points.