WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – A gritty come-from-behind performance that included holding Hood to 30 points in the game's final 25 minutes helped keep the Lycoming College men's basketball team in the hunt for one of the MAC Commonwealth's five conference tournament slots, as Lycoming overpowered Hood, 62-55 on Senior Day Saturday, Feb. 13, at Lamade Gym.
 
Lycoming improved to 16-8 overall and 8-7 in the MAC Commonwealth in an increasingly muddy conference playoff picture. Arcadia, with a loss to Lebanon Valley, fell into a tie for second in the league with the LVC, at 8-6, while Lycoming holds onto fourth place at 8-7. Widener and Stevenson are tied for fifth at 7-7 and Albright is a half-game behind them at 7-8. Hood, with two games remaining, is also still in the race for a playoff slot at 6-8 in the league and 12-11 overall.
 
Down 25-10 with 5:17 left in the first half, the Warriors put together a furious 16 points, which started when junior Nykolas King (Harlem, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science & Math) found sophomore Roger Wilson (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township) inside for a layup. The aggressive Warrior offense also got to the free throw line five times during the run and the aggressive defense led to back-to-back fastbreak layups by junior Willie Kee (Baltimore, Md./Parkville). As time expired on the period, junior David Johnson (Philadlphia, Pa./Communications Tech) capped the run with a  3-pointer to give Lycoming a 26-25 lead at the break.
 
In the second half, the two teams battled back and forth, fighting through five ties and two lead changes in the opening 10 minutes in the half before a run of four straight free throws from Kee gave Lycoming a 38-36 lead with 9:22 left. Hood tried to get out in transition on the next possession, but King blocked a shot from behind, which led to Kee grabbing the rebound and finding senior Eric Ishman (Jamaica, N.Y./Christ the King) to start the break. As Ishman neared the paint, he dished outside to sophomore Chris Wallace (Randallstown, Md./Calvert Hall), who dropped down a tomahawk dunk to give Lycoming a four-point lead.
 
The Blazers hit a 3-pointer to answer, but Lycoming never lost the lead again, with King hitting a traditional 3-point play with 6:58 left and Kee hitting a pair of 3-pointers deep into the shot clock to hold Hood off. Davon Hill hit a jumper to pull within one at 50-49 with 4:23 left, but Kee hit another clutch trey to respond.
 
Hood closed within a possession off a layup by Daniel Wegener and a had a chance to tie or take the lead with less than three minutes left, but Johnson picked off a pass at the 3-point line and cruised in for an easy layup. After a 3-point miss by Hood, freshman T.J. Duckett (Severna Park, Md./Calvert Hall) ensured the win by dropping in a huge trey, as Lycoming closed the game on an 11-6 run over the final 4:23.
 
Kee posted a career-high 19 points as he finished in double figures for the third straight game. He also added four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Johnson added 14 points, five rebounds and four steals. Freshman Calvin Chandler (Lake Worth, Fla./Park Vista) added seven points and Wallace notched six points and three steals.
 
Jared Ruiz led the Blazers with 17 points and five 3-pointers and Davon Hill added 13 points and four assists.
 
Lycoming got back to its basics, outscoring Hood, 22-12 in the paint, 24-14 off turnover and also using 10 fastbreak points in the win.
 
The Warriors will look to nail down one of the five elusive MAC Commonwealth playoff spots on Saturday, Feb. 20, when they head to Lebanon Valley for a 3 p.m. regular-season finale.