MADISON, N.J. – Senior DeAundre Manuel (Brooklyn, N.Y./KIPP NYC Prep) got the ball at the low block and found a wide open junior Stephen Hamilton (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville Area) at the top of the arc and Hamilton stepped into the Lycoming College men's basketball team's ninth 3-pointer of the game, coming with 1:31 left, to give the team its final lead in a 69-65 MAC Freedom win over FDU-Florham on Saturday, Jan. 7, at the Ferguson Recreation Center.
 
The shot gave the Warriors (8-6 overall, 3-2 MAC Freedom) a 66-63 advantage after the Devils (2-12 overall, 1-5 MAC Freedom) had tied the game twice in the previous minute. The Devils got two layup chances on their next possession, but first-year J.J. Beagle (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) secured a rebound and hit the front end of a pair of free throws with 1:03 left to make it a four-point game.
 
Carson Woods drove in for a layup to make it 67-65 with 49 seconds left and the Devils forced a turnover, but senior Dyson Harward (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) took the ball back with 15 seconds left and he hit a pair of free throws to ice the win.
 
First-year Isaiah Valentine (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg Area) led the Warriors with 14 points and nine rebounds, leading a bench effort that contributed 29 points, and Hamilton finished with 13 points and four assists. Harward notched nine points, moving within 17 of 1,000 in his career, and six rebounds to go with that all-important steal, senior Mo Terry (Severn, Md./Severn School) notched eight points, five rebounds and two assists and Beagle also finished with eight points. Manuel had seven points, a game-high 11 rebounds, and three assists.
 
The Warriors shot 44 percent (25-of-57) from the field and 33 percent (9-of-27) from 3-point range, while the Devils shot 39 percent (22-of-57), but hit 50 percent from deep (10-of-20).
 
The Warriors opened the game on a 16-6 run, with Hamilton capping the run six minutes in with a 3-pointer. The Devils cut into the lead, making it 17-14 before a 13-6 run capped by a jumper from Terry made it 34-20 with 2:27 left in the first half. The Warriors held a 37-27 lead at the break.
 
The Warriors maintained an 11-point lead after a layup from sophomore Ivan Komitski (Sofia, Bulgaria/Lee Academy (Maine)) made it 45-34 with 16:00 left, but the Devils scored 10 in a row to tie the game at 47 with 11:15 left. The Warriors responded with eight in a row to make it 55-47 after a layup from Valentine on the break with 8:32 left, but FDU-Florham hit a jumper in response and stayed within two possessions before a 3-pointer from Brian Nichols and a layup from Woods tied the game with 2:24 left at 61, setting up the dramatic finish.
 
Four Devils finished in double figures, led by 15 points a piece from Woods and Nichols. Michael Dabas and Jamal Santana each had 12, with Santana also adding six rebounds and three assists.
 
The Warriors return home on Wednesday, Jan. 11, when they host King's College (Pa.) in a MAC Freedom doubleheader, with the men serving as the first game at 4 p.m. at Lamade Gym, before the women play at 6 p.m.