FREDERICK, Md. – Senior Chris Wallace (Randallstown, Md./Calvert Hall) made a layup with 21 seconds remaining for the 13th and final lead change of the second half and Lycoming College hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 11 ticks as the 11^th-ranked Lycoming College men's basketball team defeated Hood College, 83-77, on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 2,  at BB&T Arena to escape with a MAC Commonwealth win.
 
In a frenetic finale, junior Darius James (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) hit a free throw with 2:31 remaining to extend a Lycoming lead to 71-69. But an and-one layup from Anthony Pearson allowed Hood to regain the lead with under two minutes remaining. Sophomore Damani Myers (Baldwin, N.Y./St. Mary's) hit a free throw seconds later and a Wallace block started a fast break to allow senior Alex Newbold (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) to score a layup on the other end for the 74-72 lead with 95 seconds left. Hood came back with a jumper before Newbold again gave the Warriors the lead.
 
With 33 seconds remaining, Jared Ruiz hit a 3-pointer to give the Blazers a 77-76 and Wallace scored the game-winner 12 seconds later off an inbounds pass from Newbold. Junior T.J. Duckett (Severna Park, Md./Calvert Hall) hit a free throw and Wallace hit two more before James scored a layup to make up the final score, as Hood had two turnovers and a missed 3-point attempt in its final three possessions.
 
Duckett finished with a team-high 16 points off the bench while hitting 5-of-6 3-pointers. Also coming off the bench was sophomore Ronald Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) to score 13 points and hit 5-of-6 shots.
 
In the first half, neither team could pull away, as the biggest lead by each team was seven points. Hood, however, was able to go into the half with a 3-point lead at 39-36. It was the first time this season the Warriors (7-0 overall, 2-0 MAC Commonwealth) were down at the half.
 
Early in the second half, after Lycoming tied the game at 39, Hood went on a quick 5-0 run but a 3-pointer from Myers and two 3-pointers from Duckett within a 90-second span gave the Warriors a four-point lead. Neither team could pull away from within a possession of each other over the next six minutes before Hood took a four-point lead on Anthony Pearson's 3-pointer. Freshman Ramadan Jennings (Jackson, Ohio/Life Skills) scored three straight points and Jefferson's layup with 9:39 remaining gave the Warriors a one-point lead. The two teams continued to trade buckets until there was 4:51 left when Hood took a five-point lead on Jared Ruiz's 3-pointers. Duckett countered with two straight 3-pointers in a 41-second span to give the Warriors a one-point lead.
 
Newbold led the Warrior starters with 14 points, as he hit 6-of-12 shots, while Myers added 10 points and three assists. James totaled eight points, four rebounds and three steals.
 
Lycoming hit 12 of its 25 3-pointers, while also hitting 44 percent of its shots. The bench scored 42 points while the Warriors forced 27 Hood turnovers, leading to 29 points.
 
Hood was led by 24 points from Pearson and 20 points and five rebounds from Ruiz.
 
Lycoming returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 6 p.m. as it plays Alvernia University in another MAC Commonwealth road game.