WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - With ten seconds left in the second half, sophomore Connor Shanahan (Chester Springs, Pa. / Downingtown East) drilled a 3-pointer, bringing the Lycoming College men's basketball team into a tie with Juniata College, and junior Isaiah Valentine (Mifflinburg, Pa. / Mifflinburg Area) earned the team a 73-72 win with 1.4 seconds remaining in overtime thanks to hitting the back end of a pair of free throws in Landmark Conference play at Lamade Gym on Wednesday evening, Nov. 20.
With ten seconds remaining in the second half, Valentine launched the ball across the court to Shanahan, who fired the ball into the net to tie the game at 62 as the clock ticked to zero after Juniata (0-4 overall, 0-1 Landmark) had led for the previous 22 minutes. In overtime, Juniata jumped out with two free throws, but Lycoming (1-4 overall, 1-0 Landmark) bounced back into a 69-68 lead with junior J.J. Beagle (Williamsport, Pa. / Williamsport Area) shooting a free throw, Shanahan notching a three-pointer and free throw, and Valentine posting a layup with two minutes remaining.
Following a time out, Valentine returned to the court with two free throws to help the Warriors extend the lead to three, but Juniata posted a free throw to stay within a possession before Neco Campbell hit a 3-pointer to take a 72-71 lead with 1:17 left. First-year Princeton Layton (Katy, Texas / Katy Paetow) posted a free throw with 46 seconds remaining, which tied the game at 72. After the Warriors forced a turnover, Valentine got the ball with five seconds left and turned into the paint, where he drew contact with 1.4 seconds left. After his free throw, he also got his hands on the ensuing inbounds pass, knocking it away to send the home crowd away happy..
To begin the game, sophomore Hayden Pardoe (Mill Hall, Pa. / Central Mountain) jumped out with a three-pointer in the first minute, putting the Warriors on the board as they entered a tight first half against the Eagles, which featured five lead changes and three ties in the period. Pardoe also added a three-pointer in the fifth minute and a layup three minutes later to help Lycoming into a brief lead.
Senior Ivan Komitski (Sofia, Bulgaria / Lee Academy (Maine)) helped lead Lycoming's efforts in the first half by contributing a jumper, layup, and three-pointer, all within three minutes of each other. In the last ten minutes of the first half, Valentine also posted a tip-in and layup, which brought Lycoming to a 22-22 tie at the 6:47 mark. With only 44 seconds left before halftime, first-year Noah Mathis (Ewing, N.J. / Notre Dame) rallied with a jumper to close a growing gap, as the Eagles led 32-28 at the half.
Juniata scored eight points in two minutes early in the second half and continued to widen the gap against the Warriors, as the Eagles led by 15 with 11:49 left. Sophomore Misaias Herrera (Katy, Texas / Katy Jordan) posted a free throw, Pardoe shot a three pointer and a jumper, and Valentine earned two additional free throws to lessen the gap. Near the 10th minute of the second half, Pardoe added two more free throws and a tip-in, and Valentine contributed a tip-in and a free throw to cut the deficit to 10, 56-46.
With less than six minutes remaining in the second half, Layton posted two layups and two free throws. The Warriors continued to rally, as it was 59-57 with two minutes remaining and were behind 61-57 before junior J.J Beagle (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area) hit a second chance layup, which made it 61-59 with 26 seconds left. The Eagles' Ayden Hurley hit the front end of a pair of free throws, setting up Shanahan's dramatics.
Pardoe led the Warriors with 20 points for the third straight game, also adding two assists, and one steal. Valentine posted 14 points and three assists, Shanahan earned 12 points and three assists, and Layton notched nine points and three assists.
For Juniata, Neco Campbell led the team with 16 points, followed by Ty Kocak and Jaiden Aze with 14 points each.
The Warriors travel to Elizabethtown College on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 4 p.m. for a Landmark Conference game.
