LYCOMING MEN’S BASKETBALL SETS SIGHTS ON TOP OF CONFERENCE

WILLIAMSPORT, PA – The Lycoming College men’s basketball program enters its second season under the direction of head coach Terry Conrad in 2001. Last season, there was a period of adjustment for the Warriors as they learned Conrad’s system, but the team finished the year by winning eight of their final 11 regular season games to finish third in the MAC Freedom Conference.

“The thing that really has me excited about the upcoming season is the strong senior class we have,” said Conrad. “These guys have been a part of the program for four years and they understand what it will take for this team to step into the upper echelon of the conference”

This year’s team welcomes back three starters from a year ago. Chris Napier (Sr./Port Jervis, NY; Minisink Valley) led Lycoming in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 17.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Thomas Wesner (Jr./Dillsburg, PA: Northern) returns for his second season on the team to run the offense from the point. Wesner was second on the team with a 16.9 points-per-game scoring average. He also led the squad with 78 three-point field goals. Jason Black (Sr./Duncannon, PA; Susquenita) is also back at a guard position. Black scored 8.7 points per game in 2000-01 and knocked down 37 triples.

Sophomores Matt Stackhouse (So./Hughesville, PA; Hughesville) and L.J. Huggler (So./St. Mary’s, PA; St. Mary’s) saw significant playing time in their rookie season and will be counted on to control the paint for Lycoming. Nick Tagliaferri (Sr./Linden, PA; Jersey Shore) will add depth at forward while Rob Johnson (Sr./Bradley Beach, NJ; Manasquan) and Aaron Johnston (Jr./Wellsboro, PA; Wellsboro) bring addition experience to the guard positions.

“I really like the versatility of this team. By that I mean that we have a number of players that can play multiple positions which should allow us to do a lot of different things with the lineup,” said Conrad. “I feel we will be very strong on the perimeter with the experienced group we have returning. Our inside play will be by committee during the early part of the season, but I have a lot of confidence in our returning post players and we have some young guys making great strides in practice that should contribute as the year progresses.”

Senior Thomas Renner (Millville, PA; Millville) rejoins the team after a two-year hiatus. Renner played in eight games as a freshman and will look to regain his playing form this season. Matt Spears (Shamokin, PA; Shamokin), Curtis Mays (Philadelphia, PA; University City), Matt Fisher (Cogan Station, PA; Jersey Shore), and Tomislav Cutura (Zabreb, Croatia; Bishop Neumann) join the team as freshman and will look to contribute early in their collegiate careers.

“This freshmen class has a bright future,” continued Conrad. “I’ve really enjoyed how competitive they have been as a group in practice.”

The entire team will need to carry that competitiveness into their games, playing in the extremely tough MAC Freedom Conference. The Warriors were picked by the coaches to finish second in the conference behind Wilkes University, but Scranton and King’s will be right in the mix, picked third and fourth, respectively, in the preseason poll.

“Our conference is very competitive from top to bottom. Wilkes and Scranton have traditionally been the powers, but it’s time for our program to step into one of those top two spots,” said Conrad. “We intentionally put together a very strong non-conference schedule to get ready for play within the Freedom. Our goal this season is to host a playoff game and to do that we have to finish one or two in the regular season.”

Lycoming will begin their quest this weekend when they play host to the Lycoming Invitational Tip Off Tournament. The Warriors will play Gallaudet University from Washington D.C. at 8 p.m. Friday night. Elmira College and Chowan College (NC) will open the tourney at 6 p.m. The losers of the two games will meet at 2 p.m. on Saturday with the winners playing for the championship at 4 p.m.