LYCOMING MEN'S BASKETBALL ADVANCES IN NCAA TOURNAMENT

GETTYSBURG, PA - The Lycoming College men's basketball team must have been fitted for flack-jackets Thursday afternoon, because the Bullets of Gettysburg College had no impact on the Warriors plans to advance in the NCAA playoffs. Terry Conrad's troops traveled to Bream Gymnasium in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for a first-round match-up in the Division III National Tournament. The Warriors shocked a boisterous and intense home crowd by defeating their Bullets 78-59. The win improves Lycoming's record to 20-7 overall this season. Gettysburg fell to 20-7 as their season came to an end.

Despite a crowd that was loud enough to drowned out the public address system, the Warriors got off to a solid start holding the Bullets scoreless for the first 3:19 of the game. Lycoming eventually built an 8-3 lead five minutes into the contest, prompting chants of 'please don't beat us' from the student section. An 8-2 run, however, gave the home squad their first lead of the contest.

The teams traded leads back-and-forth until the game came to a defensive standstill with a scoreless span of 3:36 midway through the period. At that point the Warriors made a major statement by outscoring Gettysburg 14-3 the remainder of the half to take a 35-23 advantage into the locker room.

The Bullets were not quite ready to call it a night yet, however. A 12-3 run to open the second half pulled Gettysburg within three. Lycoming responded with a lay-up by Matt Stackhouse (So./Hughesville, PA; Hughesville) and a three-pointer by Curtis Mays (Fr./Philadelphia, PA; University City) to extend their lead back to eight.

The home team continued to battle cutting the Warriors' lead to three twice more, but both times Lycoming responded and would not allow them to get any closer. Finally, a 9-0 run sparked by a Chris Napier (Sr./Port Jervis, NY; Minisink Valley) triple gave the Warriors a 12-point cushion with just four minutes to play. From there Lycoming won the game from the free-throw line successfully converting 12-of-14 charity tosses down the stretch, including 12 in a row. 

Napier led the squad in scoring with 22 points, including 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Stackhouse added 20 points while leading all players with 13 rebounds. He also was perfect from the charity stripe on 10 attempts. Tommy Wesner (Jr./Dillsburg, PA; Northern) also dumped in 20 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field. Senior Jason Black (Duncannon, PA; Susquenita) led the team with three assists.

The Warriors shot 53% (27-of-51) from the field, while holding Gettysburg to just 25% (17-of-67). The Bullets attempted 43 shots from three-point range making just eight (19%). Lycoming also shot 86% (18-21) from the free-throw line and out-rebounded Gettysburg 48-34.

The Warriors will now travel to Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia for a second-round contest. Tip-off for the game is at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 2. The Yellow Jackets are 23-5 on the season and received a bye in the first round of the tournament. Advanced tickets will be on sale at the Lycoming College athletic department from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, March 1. Tickets are $4 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and students, and free to children 5 and under.