READING, Pa. – An impressive defensive effort, holding Albright College to less than 40 percent from the floor helped the Lycoming College men's basketball team build an 18-point lead and hold on for a 76-70 win in a battle of the two top teams in the MAC Commonwealth on Wednesday night, Jan. 11, at the Bollman Center.
 
Lycoming (14-2 overall, 6-1 MAC Commonwealth) took a half-game lead from Albright (7-8 overall, 5-1 MAC Commonwealth) for the top spot in the league standings with a solid overall effort, never letting the Lions within two possessions in the second half.
 
The Warriors shot 47 percent (30-of-64) from the field while holding Albright to a touch less than 40 percent (21-of-53), helping to offset an aggressive outside effort from the Lions, who hit 13 3-pointers.
 
Senior David Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Communications Tech) led the Warriors offense with his third 20-point effort of the season, hitting 9-of-12 from the field and adding three steals. Freshman Ronald Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) added 14 points and two 3-pointers and senior Willie Kee (Baltimore, Md./Parkville) added 12 points and three assists.
 
The Warriors used a 13-5 run midway through the second half to take a 66-48 lead after sophomore T.J. Duckett (Severna Park, Md./Calvert Hall) hit a 3-pointer. Albright, which hit eight treys in the second half, fought back into the game in the next six minutes with a 21-8  run, as a trio of free throws from Fred Rowles made it 74-69 with 1:13 left. The Lions couldn't get closer, though, missing their final three shots from the field.
 
The Warriors controlled much of the first half, garnering a 15-10 advantage through the first six minutes after a layup by freshman Trent Bishop (Hyattsville, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt), before the Lions closed within a point at 21-20 at the halfway mark of the half.
 
Lycoming responded, though, with a nine-point run, with a layup by senior David Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Communications Tech) giving the Warriors a 30-20 lead with five minutes left. The Lions cut the lead back to five points late in the half, but Kee hit an off-balance 3-pointer as he was fouled with 0.3 seconds left in the half to send the Warriors into the break with an eight-point lead.
 
The Warriors shot a healthy 50 percent (16-of-32) from the floor in the first half, while holding Albright to just 33 percent (9-of-27).
 
Lycoming built the lead to 12 points early in the second half and kept at least a three-possession lead through the first six minutes of the second half before starting the 13-5 run.
 
Senior Nyk King (Harlem, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science & Math) finished with nine points and junior Chris Wallace (Randallstown, Md./Calvert Hall) added eight. Junior Alex Newbold (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) posted nine rebounds and three assists and freshman Damani Myers (Baldwin, N.Y./St. Mary's) finished with three steals.
 
Albright was led by 24 points and 10 rebounds from DeJuan Smith and 15 points and eight rebounds from Rowles.
 
The Warriors wrap up the first half of their MAC Commonwealth schedule on Sunday, Jan. 15, when they host Arcadia in an important conference doubleheader, with the women playing at 1 p.m. before the men at 3 p.m.