WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Senior David Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Communications Tech) led the Lycoming College men's basketball team with 19 points, one of four players to finish in double figures, as Lycoming shot 53 percent from the field, but a hotter shooting Messiah College posted a 91-80 MAC Commonwealth win at Lamade Gym on Wednesday night, Jan. 25.
 
The Warriors lead in the MAC Commonwealth shrunk to two games, as the team fell to 16-3 overall and 8-2 in the conference while Alvernia and Albright posted wins to move to 6-4 in league play. Lycoming's magic number to clinch a MAC Commonwealth Championship slot stayed at four.
  Sophomore T.J. Duckett (Severna Park, Md./Calvert Hall) finished with 14 points, hitting four 3-pointers, and both junior Chris Wallace (Randallstown, Md./Calvert Hall) and senior Willie Kee (Baltimore, Md./Parkville) each added 13 points. Wallace also had seven rebounds and Kee finished with four steals.
 
Coming into the second half down 13 points, the Warriors spent the first four minutes of the period on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to 45-41 with 15:38 left after a steal by junior Alex Newbold (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) led to a fastbreak bucket by Johnson.
 
The Falcons (9-8 overall, 4-5 MAC Commonwealth), who hit 16 3-pointers during the game, were able to get the lead back to nine after a 3-pointer by Colin Sareyka, but Lycoming again cut the lead back to four at 53-49 with 12:19 left off a 3-pointer from Duckett.
 
The Falcons scored 11 of the next 13 points, though and were able to get the lead to as many as 16 points before the Warriors made a late push, making it a two-possession game with 1:29 left after a pair of free throws from Sareyka. The Falcons closed the game out at the free throw line, hitting 10-of-12 in the final 90 seconds to hang on for the win.

After Lycoming got the first bucket of the game, Messiah began to control much of the first half of the play thanks to stellar 3-point shooting (9-of-14). The Warriors cut a 14-4 advantage down to three points at 22-19 with 5:40 left after a 3-pointer by Duckett The Falcons responded with a 3-pointer from Rob McWilliams and another by Colin Sareyka, igniting a 19-7 run that gave the team a 41-26 lead with 18 seconds left. However, a buzzer-beating jumper in the paint by Johnson made it 41-28 at the break.
 
Messiah shot 56 percent (29-of-52) from the floor, including 62 percent from behind the arc. Logan Long led the team with 24 points, canning six 3-pointers, and Sareyka added 17 points and eight assists. Josh Clippinger finished with 15 points and six rebounds and Rob McWilliams had 13 points and four assists.
 
Junior Darius James (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) posted eight points for the Warriors and sophomore Calvin Chandler (Lake Worth, Fla./Park Vista) added four points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
 
The Warriors get back on the court with an important MAC Commonwealth doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 28, with the women facing Widener at 1 p.m. before the men play at 3 p.m. in Lamade Gym.