GRANTHAM, Pa. – In a tie game as the game ticked under five minutes, senior Willie Kee (Baltimore, Md./Parkville) took over with eight points, a steal and an assist in the final moments to help lift the Lycoming College men's basketball team to a come-from-behind 87-75 win over Messiah College in both team's MAC Commonwealth opener on Wednesday night, Nov. 30.
 
With the game tied at 69, Kee hit a wide open 3-pointer from the top of the key before picking up a steal in the backcourt and rushing in for a layup to make it 74-69 with 4:08. After another Messiah turnover, senior David Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Communications Tech) hit a stepback 3-pointer and as the clock clicked under three minutes, Kee drove in for another layup to make it a 10-point game. After a Messiah bucket, Kee dished out to Johnson for another trifecta to make it 82-71.
 
The Falcons (2-3 overall, 0-1 MAC Commonwealth) made one last push, cutting the lead down to seven points, but a layup from senior Nyk King (Harlem, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science & Math) and two free throws from Johnson and one from Kee helped Lycoming (5-1 overall, 1-0 MAC Commonwealth) end the game on an 18-4 run.
 
Lycoming had to overcome a 12-point halftime deficit, doing so by hitting an impossibly hot 81 percent (18-of-22) from the field and forcing 11 Messiah turnovers that led to 22 Lycoming points. Messiah, meanwhile, was held to 32 percent (8-of-25) from the floor.
 
Lycoming jumped out to a 10-5 lead early in the game, but Messiah responded with 10 straight points to start a run that saw them take a 41-23 lead with 5:26 left in the first half. The Warriors were able to cut the lead down to 12 points thanks to a 10-4 run, but Messiah still led 45-33 at the break.
 
Messiah shot a hefty 56 percent in the first half, going 19-of-34, and it also hit six 3-pointers, while Lycoming shot 42 percent (11-of-26), and 0-for-4 from downtown.
 
The Warriors cut the lead down to five points early in the second half, thanks to a midcourt steal and layup from sophomore Alex Newbold (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) before he got out in front of a break in transition off a missed layup for another score and the traditional 3-point play to make it 51-46 with 16:21 to play. The Warriors kept pressing defensively, and a steal by King led to two free throws from junior Darius James (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) before King scooped up a loose ball and drew a blocking call on his resulting shot attempt. He hit both free throws to make it a one-point game with 15:42 left.
 
After both teams hit 3-pointers, James tied the game at 54 when he was fouled getting an offensive rebound and he gave the team a 55-54 lead with 13:46 left, its first lead in more than 20 minutes. After Messiah took the lead back with four free throws, the Warriors continued to push back, with a fastbreak bucket by Newbold giving Lycoming a 59-58 lead with 11:00 left. The see-saw battle continued with neither team getting more than a one-possession lead until back to back layups from junior Chris Wallace (Randallstown, Md./Calvert Hall) and King put the Warriors ahead 67-63 with 8:04 left.
 
Messiah tied the game at 67 with four straight points over the next two minutes before taking the lead off a layup with 6:00 left. Newbold tied the game with a pair of free throws before Kee took over.
 
Johnson led the Warriors with 21 points and three assists, Newbold added 16 points, four assists and two steals and King finished with 14 points, five rebounds and two steals. Freshman Trent Bishop (Hyattsville, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) added a career-best 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks and James finished with nine points and two steals. All of Kee's eight points came in the final run, while he also had three assists and two steals.
 
Josh Clippinger and Logan Long led the Falcons with 15 points each and Luke Cable, Colin Sareyka and Rob McWilliams each had 10 points. Clippinger had seven rebounds and both Neil Murren and Sareyka had three assists. McWilliams led the team with a game-high three steals.
 
The Warriors get back on the court on Saturday, Dec. 3, when they cap a MAC Commonwealth doubleheader with a 3 p.m. game against Hood in Lamade Gym.