WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – It wasn't the easiest win in Lycoming College men's basketball coach Guy Rancourt's 13 years as a head coach. But it was his 200^th and the ninth straight for Lycoming, as it survived a late rally by Delaware Valley to take a 65-63 win in the Louis Fleming Basinger Memorial Tournament championship game on Friday afternoon, Dec. 30, in Lamade Gym.
 
Rancourt, who won 55 games in four years at John Jay College before coming to Lycoming, where he has won 145 in nine years, guided the Warriors (12-1 overall) through another gritty defensive effort, as Delaware Valley (5-6 overall) shot just 31 percent (20-of-64) from the floor.
 
Holding a three-point lead as the final 90 seconds approached, it became apparent that the Warriors would need to win the game at the free throw line. After Lycoming missed the front end of a 1-and-1, the Aggies' Tyliek Kimbrough hit a jumper to make it 59-58 with 1:04 left.

 

Junior Alex Newbold (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) willed the team past the threat, though, as the 57 percent free throw shooter hit 3-of-4 and grabbed three rebounds in the ensuing 30 seconds, helping ensure him of MVP honors.
 
The Aggies used a pair of free throws to cut within two, but senior Willie Kee (Baltimore, Md./Parkville) hit two free throws of his own and senior Nyk King (Harlem, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science and Math) picked up a steal and hit 1-of-2 free throws to make it 65-60 with four seconds left. Kimbrough hit a long heave at the buzzer to make up the final margin.
 
The Warriors hit the first three buckets of the second half to build a 13-point lead at 42-29 before the Aggies went on an 8-0 run to make it 42-37 with 15:10 left. The Warriors got the lead back to 10 before the Aggies surged back within six and Lycoming resoinded with six straight points to take a 56-44 lead with 6:47 left. A Daniel Paulson 3-pointer started the Aggies on a 14-3 run to make it a one-point game after Kimbrough's jumper with 1:04 left.
 
The teams opened the game by working through a tie and a lead change before a 3-pointer by Johnson put the Warriors ahead 7-5. After the Aggies cut the lead to a point at 11-10 with 13:48 left, the Warriors used a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to take a 25-14 lead after a quick-fire 3-pointer from sophomore T.J. Duckett (Severna Park, Md./Calvert Hall).
 
Lycoming was able to get the lead to 13 points twice in the half, the last time on a pair of free throws from freshman Ronald Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) with 3:37 remaining, a pair of scores that made it 34-21.
 
Delaware Valley closed the half on an 8-2 run to get within seven points at 36-29 at the break, but they still finished the half shooting just 24 percent (8-of-33) from the field, while Lycoming shot 45 percent (13-of-29).
 
Newbold posted his 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for his second career double-double to take the tournament MVP honors, as he finished the tournament averaging 12.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Johnson finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists to earn all-tournament team honors, and King added 10 points and three steals. Junior Chris Wallace (Randallstown, Md./Calvert Hall) finished with eight points and five rebounds.
 
Kimbrough led the Aggies with 26 points and five assists and Tyrea Williams added 11 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks and four assists. Andre' Butler finished with seven points and 16 rebounds.
 
The Warriors shot 35 percent (21-of-60) from the floor, but managed a 15-7 advantage on second chance points, despite both teams having an even 13 offensive rebounds in the game. Lycoming also held a 25-7 advantage in bench points, with 10 of Lycoming's 11 players finding the scoring column in the game.
 
The Warriors get back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 4, when they host Lebanon Valley in a MAC Commonwealth game at 8 p.m. in Lamade Gym.