FREDERICK, Md. – Preseason MAC Commonwealth favorite Hood College cut a 12-point lead for the Lycoming College men's basketball team down to a single-point twice in the final six seconds, but a pair of free throws from junior Darius Dangerfield (Abingdon, Md./Harford Tech) and a defensive awareness that didn't allow Hood to take a shot at a tying field goal helped Lycoming come away with a 67-66 win on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 11, at BB&T Arena.
 
Dangerfield gave Lycoming (10-5 overall, 3-3 MAC Commonwealth) a 63-51 lead with 5:37 left with a 3-pointer, but Hood (9-5 overall, 2-3 MAC Commonwealth) crept back into the game with six straight points before freshman Dyson Harwood (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) got a third-chance rebound and put it in to make it 65-57 with 3:11 to go.
 
Hood continued to hold off the Warriors on the offensive end while Mason Wang scored five straight points to help Hood close within three at 65-62 with 44 seconds left. The Warriors used nearly all of their shot clock before a missed shot gave Hood the ball and the Warriors fouled Wang, who hit both free throws with seven seconds left. Forced to foul on the inbounds, Hood watched as Dangerfield calmly drained both free throws to make it 67-64. The Warriors fouled when Hood got the ball past midcourt and Evan Wang hit both free throws to close within a point with 3.1 seconds left.
 
The Warriors tossed the ball the length of the court and it was deflected out with 0.7 seconds left, but Hood's ensuing inbounds was knocked away to give the Warriors the win to move into fifth place in the league standings with 10 games to play.
 
Senior Ryan Hollis (Centreville, Md./Saints Peter & Paul) led the Warriors with 15 points, hitting five 3-pointers, and Harward added 10 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. Dangerfield added eight points and three assists and freshman Donovan James (Mount Carmel, Pa./Mount Carmel Area) added eight points and two assists. Freshman Luke Finkbeiner (Warrenton, Va./Wakefield School) hit three 3-pointers to finish with nine points and freshman Jon-Marc Flores-Diaz (San Antonio, Texas/William Howard Taft) posted seven points and eight rebounds.
 
The Warriors were able to build the lead thanks to solid defensive effort, holding Hood to 34 percent (21-for-62) from the floor, including just 3-of-25 (12 percent) from 3-point range, as Hood entered the game averaging more than 10 3-pointers per contest. Lycoming hit 12-of-37 (32 percent) from long-range in response and shot 45 percent (14-of-31) from the floor in the second half.
 
The Warriors led for 37 minutes, taking the lead for good when sophomore D'Andre Edmond (Pflugerville, Texas/Pflugerville) hit a layup inside to make it 8-6 with 14:21 left in the first half, which started a 10-0 run. Lycoming later led by 11 at 21-10 after a Hollis 3-pointer, but Hood cut the gap to two points at 25-23 with 28 seconds to go before James canned a 3-pointer to cap the half.
 
Hood kept Lycoming within two possessions until Hollis and Finkbeiner hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 48-38 with 10:10 left. Hood made another run, closing within three points at 54-51, but Hollis stopped the run with back-to-back 3-pointers and Dangerfield canned another with 5:37 left, setting the stage for Hood's comeback attempt.
 
Mason Wang finished with 29 points and five rebounds and Tyler Evans added 12 points. Michael Riley posted seven points, 11 rebounds and five steals.
 
The Warriors get back on the court on Wednesday, Jan. 15, when they face Lebanon Valley College in the opener of a MAC Commonwealth doubleheader at 6 p.m. in Lamade Gym, with the women's teams set to follow.