WARRIOR MEN’S BASKETBALL WINS THRILLING COMEBACK

WILLIAMSPORT, PA – The Lycoming College men’s basketball team turned in a classic, Tuesday evening, with a come-from-behind victory over the University of Scranton. The Warriors overcame deficits of 21 points in the first half and 20 points in the second half to defeat the Royals, 77-74 in dramatic fashion. Lycoming improves to 16-7 overall and 9-4 within the Freedom Conference with the win. Scranton falls to 12-11 and 9-4. The two teams are now tied with King’s atop the conference standings with just one game remaining for each team.

The Royals took advantage of cold shooting by the Warriors to jump all over them early. A pair of free throws by Brian O’Donnell gave Scranton a 34-13 lead with six minutes to play in the half. Lycoming attempted to chip away at the deficit but could not find a rhythm and went into the half trailing by 16.

The Royals continued to frustrate the Warriors in the early part of the second half, extending their lead to 19 five minutes into the period. Tommy Wesner (Jr./Dillsburg, PA; Northern) then stepped up and hit back-to-back three-pointers to spark a 21-4 run over the next five minutes that pulled Lycoming within in two. Scranton tried to slow the Warriors’ momentum but two minutes later another triple by Wesner gave Lycoming their first lead of the game with eight minutes to play.

The two teams traded punches and the lead over the next seven minutes, but consecutive threes by Jason Black (Sr./Duncannon, PA; Susquenita) and Wesner gave the Warriors a five-point lead with 50 seconds to play. The game, however, was not quite decided yet as poor free throw shooting gave the Royals an opportunity to chip away at the deficit. Three-pointers by O’Donnell and Dan Loftus sandwiched around a free throw by Wesner pulled Scranton within one with 13 ticks remaining.

A pair of missed free throws gave the Royals possession with eight seconds to play, trailing 75-74. A foul then gave Scranton the chance to win the game from the charity stripe but Ryan Rogen missed both ends of the double bonus and Wesner corralled the rebound and was fouled. Two successful free throws, and the game was final – 77-74.

Wesner led Lycoming with 23 points – all coming in the second half of play. He was also tops on the team with nine rebounds and four assists. Chris Napier (Sr./Port Jervis, NY; Minisink Valley) added 19 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Matt Stackhouse (Hughesville, PA; Hughesville) continued his solid inside play with 18 points, eight rebounds, and two blocked shots.

Loftus scored a game-high 24 points for the Royals. O’Donnell added 17 points and 14 rebounds.

The Warriors shot 59% from the field in the second half after hitting just 25% in the first half. They also connected on 9-of-16 three-pointers during the comeback.

Lycoming will host DeSales University on Saturday to wrap up the regular season. The Warriors will play in the first round of the Freedom Conference playoffs on Wednesday, February 20, at a site yet to be determined.