READING, Pa. – The Albright men's basketball team overcame a 23-point first-half deficit to defeat No. 20 Lycoming, 87-80, in overtime on Saturday afternoon at Bollman Center. With the victory, next week's MAC Commonwealth Championship will run through Albright as the Lions clinched the top seed in the tournament.

Fred Rowles scored a career-high 26 points while grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out seven assists. DeJuan Smith scored 14 points with 15 rebounds, his highest rebounding total in a game since getting 16 against Arcadia on Feb. 3, 2016.

The first half leaned heavily in Lycoming's favor, thanks almost entirely to its white-hot shooting from three-point range. While Lycoming entered the game second in the league shooting 36.7 percent from three-point range, the Albright defense ranked sixth nationally in allowing just 29.2 percent from beyond the arc on defense.

Against that tight Albright defense, Lycoming made seven of its first eight from three-point range as it shot 66.7 percent (10-of-15) in the first half. That hot shooting staked the Warriors to its largest lead of the night, 39-16, with 6:38 to play in the first half.

The Albright comeback started because it made stops at the defensive end. The Lions allowed just five more points to the Warriors in the final 6:38 to head into the locker room trailing, 44-29. That strong defense continued as the second half opened. Albright started the second on a 14-3 run, capped by Brandon Lindsay's four-point play with 13:55 left to play in regulation.

That three pointer gave Lindsay the Albright single-season record for makes in a season from three-point range. He entered the game tied with three other players with 72. He made four on the night while finishing with 13 points and three steals.

Lindsay's free throw after the three pointer made it 47-43, and it was competitive from that point forward. Lycoming pushed the lead back to 11 points with a layup to make it 65-54 with 7:02 left, but the Lions countered with a 15-3 run to take its first lead of the game on Smith's three pointer to make it 69-68 with 2:37 to play.

Lycoming retook the lead on its next possession, but Rowles came roaring back for the Lions with a three pointer to make it 72-70 Albright with 2:06 left. Lycoming hit a layup with 1:48 to play, and that was the end of the scoring in regulation. Smith missed a three pointer with four seconds to play, and Samuel Majekodunmi's desperation three at the buzzer missed the mark.

The overtime period paid off the momentum swing that Albright started late in the first half and carried throughout the second. After falling behind to open the period on a free throw, the Lions never looked back. Rowles scored the first five points of the period for the Lions to give Albright a 77-73 lead with 4:07 left, and he wasn't finished. He scored 11 of the team's 15 points in overtime.

Ahead by a point with 3:00 to play, DeLascio Dancy hit a jumper before Rowles rattled off four more points to move the lead into two-possession territory. It never again was a one-possession game.

Dancy posted a game-high eight assists as the Lions assisted on 19 of their 30 field goals.

Albright now waits for the winner of Monday night's Play-In Game between No. 4 Messiah and No. 5 Arcadia. The Lions will host the winner of that game on Wednesday night in a semifinal game.