Lycoming Eliminates Blue Jays in Commonwealth Semis, 90-81

From the E-town College Website:

Box score

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. --- Will Kelly scored a game-high 30 points to lead Lycoming College to a 90-81 victory over Elizabethtown College in a Commonwealth Conference men's basketball semifinal game at Lamade Gymnasium Wednesday night.

Eric Anthony added 19 points for the Warriors (21-5 overall), who will host Albright College in the championship game Saturday after the Lions held off Messiah College 73-67 in Wednesday's other semifinal contest.

Mike Church led the Blue Jays (16-9 overall) with 22 points and nine rebounds in his final career game, as all five starters reached double figures. Elizabethtown overcame a 15-point first-half deficit to briefly take a one-point lead midway through the second half, but committed 22 turnovers which led to 25 points for Lycoming.

Kelly went 8-for-12 from the field, including 4-for-7 from three-point range, and finished 10-for-10 at the foul line as the Warriors went 26-for-33 from the stripe in the second half and 31-for-41 for the game. In three meetings with the Blue Jays this season, Kelly averaged 25.7 points per game and went 20-for-20 from the foul line to help the Warriors win two of the three games.

Lycoming jumped to a quick 9-2 lead after four minutes and took its largest lead of the night at 26-11 with 7:37 left in the first half on the second of back-to-back three-pointers by Kelly. The Warriors led 37-25 at halftime behind 15 points from Kelly, while the Blue Jays shot just 23.1 percent (6-for-26) from the field.

Trailing 51-41 with 14:57 to play, the Blue Jays went on a 13-2 run to take their first lead of the game at 54-53 on two free throws by Keith Fogel with 11:10 to go. After two free throws by Anthony put the Warriors back ahead 55-54, Fogel gave Elizabethtown its last lead of the night at 56-55 on a layup with 9:58 remaining.

The Warriors regained the lead for good as Ihsaan Davis went to the foul line on each of Lycoming's next four possessions and hit all eight of his free-throw attempts to push his squad's lead to 63-60 with 8:39 to go.

After Church hit two free throws with 7:58 remaining, back-to-back three-pointers by Kelly and Sebastian Sabella and a layup from Johnathan Williams gave Lycoming a 71-62 lead with 6:36 left. Elizabethtown would get no closer than five the rest of the way as the Warriors went 8-for-10 from the stripe in the final 2:25.

Fogel finished with 16 points and four steals for the Blue Jays, while Kyle McConnell tallied a career-high 14 points before fouling out with 3:29 to go. Also reaching double figures were Joe Flanagan, with 12 points, and Josh Houseal, who scored 11 points in 29 minutes in his final game as a Blue Jay.

Both teams shot 43 percent from the field for the game, while Lycoming finished with a 40-33 edge on the glass including 14 offensive rebounds. Sabella scored nine points off the bench for the Warriors, whose reserves outscored the Blue Jay substitutes by a 24-6 margin.

Church finished his career at Elizabethtown with 1,068 points, ranking 29th on the school's all-time list, along with 581 rebounds, 141 assists, 140 blocked shots and 134 steals in 94 games. Houseal tallied 401 points and 270 rebounds in 80 career games, while Chris Jones scored the final two of his 166 career points in the second half.

From the Lycoming College Website:

Warrior basketball advances to Commonwealth Conference finals

Box Score

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Behind the cold-blooded shooting of junior forward Will Kelly, the No. 1 seeded Lycoming College Warriors advance to the Commonwealth Conference playoffs after downing No. 4 Elizabethtown College 90-81 on Wednesday, Feb. 24. This will be the first appearance for Lycoming in the Commonwealth championship game since the 2007-08 season.

The Warriors (21-5) took a 37-25 lead into half time, leading by 15 with 7:37 left in the stanza. Kelly dominated the game from the start, hitting six of his first eight attempts in the game, including three of five from beyond the arc. His second miss came at the buzzer on a shot from beyond half court. Kelly finished the half with 15 points and three rebounds while Eric Anthony posted nine points with three assists. Lycoming continued its high-pressure defense, forcing Elizabethtown into 10 turnovers, eight of which were Warrior steals.

In the second half, Kelly proved what it took to ice a game, hitting 100 (10-for-10) percent of his free throws, and missing just two of his four shots from the field, posting another 15 points. Anthony registered an additional 10 points, going five-of-six from beyond the arc. Lycoming’s bench play was crucial in the half, outscoring the Blue Jay substitutes 20-6, led by Sebastian Sabella who posted nine points.

Kelly led the game in scoring with 30 points, going eight-for-12 from the field, including four of seven from beyond the arc. He also pulled down five rebounds. Anthony finished the game with 19 points and four assists. Ihsaan Davis recorded 10 points. Freshman Jerald Williams tallied nine points, four assists and three steals. Mike Bradley tallied a game-high nine rebounds.

The Warriors shot well all game, going 43.3 (26-of-60) percent from the field, hitting three of their six three-point attempts in the second half. Lycoming’s pressure resulted in 16 steals on 22 E’Town turnovers.

Elizabethtown (16-9) finished with all five starters in double-figures, led by Mike Church’s 22 and Keith Fogel’s 16. Kyle McConnell put up 14 points while Joe Flanagan and Josh Houseal chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The Warriors (21-5) will play No. 2 Albright College on Saturday, Feb. 27 at a time to be determined on Thursday, Feb. 25. Please check back in the afternoon for the time.

Notes: Lycoming and Albright split the series this season … The Lions won at Lycoming 84-80 on Jan. 30 while Lycoming claimed the win 74-69 on the road … Kelly has posted season-highs against Elizabethtown (28 on Jan. 20 and 30 in tonight’s game)