WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – With five players finishing in double figures and an 88 percent effort at the free throw line, the Lycoming College men's basketball team was able to move past second-place Albright College in a critical 90-83 MAC Commonwealth win on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 11, at Lamade Gym.
 
The Warriors (19-4 overall, 11-3 MAC Commonwealth) shot a composed 48 percent (13-of-27) from the field in the second half, but more importantly hit 23-of-26 (89 percent) at the free throw line to clinch the win over Albright (11-13 overall, 9-6 MAC Commonwealth). Lycoming, thanks to their win over Albright and Messiah's 68-67 win over Lebanon Valley, also clinched the top seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Championship, giving the team home-court advantage throughout the tournament, as the Warriors will finish first in the conference regular-season standings for the second time in three years.
 
Senior Nyk King (Harlem, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science & Math) led the team with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Senior David Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Communications Tech) notched 17 points and two assists. Senior Willie Kee (Baltimore, Md./Parkville) added 13 points, two assists and two steals, junior Alex Newbold (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) added 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals and junior Chris Wallace (Randallstown, Md./Calvert Hall) added 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, as the five Warrior starters chipped in 70 points.
 
Albright took the lead, 54-52 with 13:12 left off a 3-pointer from Garett Oplinger, but the Warriors responded with a run of nine straight points to take control of the game. Junior Darius James (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) started the run with an old-fashioned three-point play with 11:30 left and it wrapped up with a pair of free throws from Newbold, which made it 61-54 with 9:03 left.
 
Albright cut the lead to two points with 6:41 left, but the Warriors again responded, as Johnson hit a pair of free throws before canning a 3-pointer with 5:33 left and moments later, a jumper by King at the top of the key gave Lycoming an 82-72 lead with 2:10 left. Albright had one more run in it, cutting the lead to four points with 29 seconds left after hitting two 3-pointers in a span of 15 seconds, but Lycoming closed out the win by hitting 3-of-4 at the line in the final 30 seconds to ensure the win.
 
The lead changed six times in the first half with three ties mixed in, with Albright staying in control for most of the half, leading for more than 13 minutes. However, after Albright took a 26-20 lead with 7:24 left in the first half, the Warriors went on a 14-2 run, with a jumper from senior David Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Communications Tech) giving the Warriors a 34-28 lead with 3:34 left. The Lions scored five points in a row to close within a point, but the Warriors responded and a 3-pointer from senior Nyk King (Harlem, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Science & Math) gave Lycoming a 39-34 lead with 1:28 left, helping the team take a 39-36 lead into the locker room.
 
Out of the locker room, the Warriors built the lead to six points at 44-38 before the Lions fought back with a 16-8 run to take a two-point lead off Oplinger's 3-pointer.
 
Fred Rowles led the Lions with 18 points and six rebounds and Omari Ringgold added 17 points and two assists. Oplinger notched 16 points and eight rebounds and DeJuan Smith finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
 
The Warriors finished with a 36-22 advantage in points in the paint and a 19-2 advantage in points off turnover, as Lycoming held a 16-9 advantage in turnovers.
 
The Warriors get back on the court on Tuesday, Feb. 14, when they head to Lebanon Valley for another important MAC Commonwealth doubleheader, with the women tipping at 6 p.m. before the men at 8 p.m.