Pribble Explodes for 40 in Warriors' Triumph
Big Win Helps in Conference Standings, Splits Season Series
Box Score

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. --- Lycoming senior forward Jonathan Pribble (Woolrich, Pa./Central Mountain) exploded for a season-high 40 points including eight three-pointers as the Warriors came back from eight down at the half to trounce Wilkes University on Wednesday evening.  Lycoming moves to 11-9 overall, 5-4 in the Freedom Conference while Wilkes drops to 11-6, 7-2.

Pribble was unconscious in the second half in hitting for 28 points including 7-for-8 from three-point range.  For the game, Pribble fell one point shy of his career high on 12-of-19 from the field and 8-of-12 from deep, not to mention 8-of-10 from the foul line.  He also came away with six steals.

Not to be lost in the shuffle was an outstanding double-double effort from freshman big man Greg Sye (Chantilly, Va./Chantilly).  Sye put up 18 points to go along with 12 rebounds, five offensive.  Sophomore Kevin Morris (Camp Hill, Pa./Trinity) added seven tallies and five boards while senior Patrick Baylor (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O’Hara) chipped in five points and seven rebounds.

Mike Constantine led Wilkes with 17 points as he went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc.  Steve Kline dropped in 13 and Chris Shovlin 10 in support.  Kline also had 10 rebounds.

Sye looked strong early for the Warriors with a blocked shot, offensive rebound and follow-up lay-in, and a pair of defensive boards as the Warriors grabbed an early 4-2 advantage.  The Warrior big man kept up the glass work with yet another early offensive board and lay-up to tie the score at 8-8 with 15:27 on the clock.

A pair of free throws by Evan Walters gave Wilkes a 14-10 lead with 11:41 left to play.  Jeremy Kable made it 20-12 after hitting a pair of three-pointers that forced Lycoming into a timeout with 10:31 remaining.

Constantine hit his second long-distance jumper of the game and Steve Kline hit a mid-range shot to further upped the Colonels’s lead to 25-12.  Sophomore Dave Wilson (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville) and Pribble got the Warriors back to within seven at 25-18 following a lay-up and trey and free throw, respectively.

Pribble continued his own personal scoring run by dropping in eight straight points to bring the Warriors within five at 27-22 with 5:39 on the clock.  After a bit of a lull, Constantine hit his third three of the half to give Wilkes a 32-24 edge and force another Warrior break with 2:46 left before the intermission.

Morris stopped the Warriors drought from deep with a three-pointer to close the edge to 32-27, but Constantine connected on yet another triple to regain the eight point advantage for Wilkes.  The half ran out without another score and Lycoming down 35-27.

Sye started the second half just like the first with a lay-up, a steal, a big defensive rebound, and a pair of charity tosses to cut the Colonels’ lead down to 35-31 with 17:56 on the clock.  On the next possession, Sye went to work on the low blocks one more time and overpowered Walters for two more to force Wilkes into a timeout at 17:07 up 35-33.

A free throw by Walters and a jumper and pair of tosses from Shovlin quickly regained a seven-point edge for Wilkes at 40-33.  Baylor stopped the mini run with a three-pointer, and Pribble brought the Warriors to back within two at 40-38 with a tough baseline jumper following a Sye blocked shot.

Lycoming tied the score for the first time since 4-4 when senior point guard Brad Musser (Woolrich, Pa./Central Mountain) found Sye with a nice slip pass down the lane.  Constantine responded for Wilkes with his fifth three-pointer of the game, but unlike the first half, Pribble answered back immediately with a long-distance hit of his own.

Following a timeout with Wilkes up 47-45, Pribble cashed out his third trey of the game to give the Warrriors the lead 48-47.  Shovlin made the advantage short-lived with a quick score of his own, but Pribble stayed hot with yet another three-pointer to give Lycoming a 51-49 edge with 11:15 to play.

Pribble dialed long-distance for a fourth time in the half to extend Lycoming’s lead to 54-51, and followed just a little over a minute later with his fifth of the stanza for a 57-51 lead to force another Colonel timeout. 

Sye continued his yeoman’s effort in the trenches but this time hit Baylor with a nice underneath pass for a lay-up following an offensive board to make the score 60-52.  Pribble followed that with foot-on-the-arc jumper for a 10-point lead.

After trading free throws for a few minutes, Pribble struck again for another three-pointer to give the Warriors an 11-point edge.  Kable made Lycoming’s largest lead a brief occurrence with a triple of his own to cut the Warriors’ lead to 69-61 with 2:51 remaining.

Sye continued to go to work down low, giving the Warriors a double-digit lead with a nice lay-up from Morris, but Matt Gould and Kline took a gash out of Lycoming’s edge with a three-pointer each and lowered their deficit to 71-67 with 1:11 to play.

Pribble came to the rescue yet again with his eighth overall triple of the contest and a 74-67 lead with under a minute remaining.  Sye added another point for an eight-point lead with 47.5 seconds left.

Wilkes was forced to foul from then out.  Walters made a lay-up to make the score 75-69, but Pribble canned both of the ensuing free throws for a 77-69 lead that would carry through to the end.

Lycoming is next in action on Saturday, February 4, as the Warriors welcome Drew University to Lamade.  Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. followed by the Alumni game at 5:00 p.m.