WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Albright men's basketball team overcame a 10-point deficit late in the first of the MAC Commonwealth Championship game at top-seeded Lycoming on Saturday night, but the Lions couldn't get over the hump in the second half as the Warriors won the game, 76-62.
Lycoming used an 8-0 run in less than 1:30 in the first half to extend its lead to 34-24 with 4:36 left. After the teams traded buckets, Albright went on a 12-1 run to finish the first half with a 38-37 lead.
Omari Ringgold and
DeJuan Smith each had four points on that run for the Lions, and
Jayson Clark hit a three pointer to spark the stretch for Albright.
The Lions extended their lead to as many as four points early in the second half. Smith scored on a layup to give Albright a 40-39 lead, and Ringgold scored along with a foul on the next possession. His three-point play made it 43-39 Albright with 18:22 left in regulation.
The game saw eight ties and 14 lead changes, and Albright took the lead for the final time on
DeLascio Dancy, Jr.'s three pointer from the right corner with 13:34 to play. That made it 48-46 Albright. Lycoming took control at that point, however. The Warriors scored 16 of the next 20 points in the game. By the time that run ended, Lycoming had its double-digit advantage again, leading 62-52 with just 4:08 to play.
That run lasted nearly 10 minutes in the second half with Albright getting just two field goals in that time. Smith scored one of those buckets as he finished with 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Dancy's free throw with 2:09 to play had the Lions back to within eight points, but Lycoming answered on its next possession as it closed out the game. Dancy finished with eight points.
Ringgold had 13 points while Clark finished with five points and three steals. The Lions hung in the game despite shooting 16 percent (4-for-25) from three-point range while Lycoming shot 56.3 percent (9-for16) from that distance.
Albright forced 27 Lycoming turnovers and turned those into 31 points. That is a new season high for the defense, by far. Albright forced 19 turnovers on three separate occasions earlier this season.
