GRANTHAM, Pa. – Senior Darius James (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) led three players in double figures to help the Lycoming College men's basketball team storm back from a 20-point first-half deficit and tie the game with 1:24 remaining, but Messiah College closed out the contest with five straight points to exit Hitchcock Arena with a 57-52 MAC Commonwealth victory on Wednesday night, Feb. 6.
 
James finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Sophomore D'Yante Doughty (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) was 3-of-7 from three, finishing with 13 points and seven rebounds. Senior Calvin Chandler (Lake Worth, Fla./Park Vista) added 11 points, going 3-of-8 on triples and pulling in four rebounds.
 
A 42-21 run starting at the nine minute mark in the first half helped the Warriors (9-14 overall, 3-10 MAC Commonwealth) battle their way back from a 20-point first-half deficit, to take a 42-40 lead with 10:57 to go. Messiah (9-14 overall, 5-9 MAC Commonwealth) scored the game's next eight points, regaining a 48-42 advantage with 5:34 remaining. Layups on back-to-back possessions by James cut it to a one-score game with just under five minutes left.
 
Messiah used another pair of buckets to lead, 52-46. However, Chandler drilled two straight 3-pointers to tie the game at 52 with 1:24 on the clock, and Messiah scored the final five points to make up the final margin.
 
The Warriors won the turnover battle, 19-11, turning those takeaways into 25 points. Lycoming also outrebounded Messiah on the offensive end, 15-12, leading to 11 second-chance points compared to seven for the Falcons.
 
The Falcons hit 7-of-13 shots to start the contest on a 19-0 run through the first eight minutes. Akram got the Warriors on the board, draining a jumper to make it 19-2 with 11:42 remaining. Messiah extended their lead to 23-3 with 9:03 left in the first half. The Warrior defense turned up the pressure, igniting the offense on a 17-5 run to close out the period. James and Doughty combined for 15 of the Warriors' 20 points in the half, with Doughty knocking down three shots from deep, including a step back jumper to cut the lead to 28-20 heading into the break.
 
Matt Glogowski led Messiah with game highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds, going 9-of-20 from the floor. Josh Darville added 10 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Warriors are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 3 p.m., when they host MAC Commonwealth foe Hood College at Lamade Gym.