FREDERICK, Md. – Freshman T.J. Duckett (Severna Park, Md./Calvert Hall) scored 18 of his career-high 24 points in the second half and the Lycoming College men's basketball team overwhelmed Hood College with a 48-point performance in the final 20 minutes to cruise to a 79-66 MAC Commonwealth win on Saturday, Jan. 9, at BB&T Arena.
 
Duckett was one of three Warriors (11-3 overall, 4-2 MAC Commonwealth) to finish in double figures, as he hit 6-of-9 from downtown and added two steals. Sophomore Alex Newbold (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) added 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists and sophomore Chris Wallace (Randallstown, Md./Calvert Hall) added 12 points and three rebounds.
 
The Warriors shot a solid 46 percent (27-of-58) from the field and also performed well at the free throw line, hitting 17-of-21 (81 percent). Most importantly, the Warriors were able to force Hood (8-7 overall, 2-4 MAC Commonwealth) into 22 turnovers, which led to 27 points.
 
Down by five points at the break, the Warriors used 10 straight points to start the second half as part of a 23-2 run that occupied the first eight minutes of the period and give Lycoming a controlling 54-38 lead.
Junior Nykolas King (Harlem, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science & Math) started the run with a 3-pointer before Duckett began to take it over, giving Lycoming a 39-36 lead with 17:54 left, his first of 10 points during the run.
 
The Blazers cut the deficit to 14 near the midway part of the half, but another 3-pointer from Duckett started another run of 10 straight points to give Lycoming a 68-44 lead with 7:23 left. The Blazers rallied from there, cutting the deficit to 11 points at 70-59 with 2:41 left, but Newbold responded with an old-fashioned 3-point play to end the threat, as Hood didn't get closer than 13 the rest of the way.
 
In the first half, the Warriors jumped out to a 12-5 lead after a 3-pointer from Duckett with 16:06 left, but Hood responded with a 16-4 run to take a 21-16 lead with 9:50 left. The Blazers controlled the lead for the rest of the half, allowing Lycoming within three just once before expanding it to eight with 1:09 left in the stanza off a layup by Jared Ruiz. Senior Eric Ishman (Jamaica, N.Y./Christ the King) hit a 3-pointer right before halftime for the Warriors to cut the lead to five points and make it 36-31 at the break.
 
Both King and junior David Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Communications Tech) each posted nine points for the Warriors and Ishman finished with five points. Senior John Monkam (Lanham, Md./DuVal) added three points and seven rebounds.
 
Hood, which shot just 44 percent (22-of-50) and 29 percent from 3-point range (7-of-24), was led by 20 points and three assists from Davon Hill and Jared Ruiz added 17 points and two steals. Both Daniel Wegener and Malik Harris each added seven rebounds.
 
The Warriors wrap up the four-game road trip by heading to Albright for a MAC Commonwealth doubleheader on Wednesday, Jan. 13. The women will tip at 6 p.m. before the men play at 8 p.m.