On Saturday afternoon when the Lycoming men's basketball team fell to Lebanon Valley, it was simple numbers that determined the outcome of that contest.
A mere two days later, efforts that can't be quantified by any stat sheet or box score were the difference in the Warriors' 57-38 victory over New Jersey City.
Having been on a two-game skid coming into Monday night's contest, the Warriors came out with guns blazing. From the deep shot, mid-range jumpers, points off post play from Greg Sye, there seemed to be nothing that wouldn't fall Lycoming on Monday. The Warriors shot nearly 50 percent from the floor during the first half, which is when this game was truly decided.
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Despite their offensive successes early on, it was Lycoming's work ethic on the defensive side of the ball that ensured them a victorious end to their evening. The Warriors switched things up to more of a zone-press style of defense coming out of the gate, a tactic which greatly confused Jersey City.
There wasn't much of a turnover differential, but this defensive strategy held the Gothic Knights to a paltry 28 percent shooting from the field, the only number that indicates just how well Lycoming played without the ball.
"The guys did a great job," said Warriors coach Guy Rancourt. "We kind of switched things up the last couple days, put a little more emphasis on different parts of our system and it worked for us tonight. {Jersey City} is a very athletic team. They're very talented. Watching them on film, it seems more like an NBA Slam Dunk contest the way they play. They're athletic, but we did a good job at slowing the tempo down and taking control of the game tonight."
The Warriors did just that, using the shot clock to their advantage after building a 34-17 lead going into halftime. It wasn't a heart-stopper of a contest like many that Lamade Gymnasium has seen this season, but Rancourt was very optimistic in his outlook for the future following the victory.
"It's something we need to build off of," Rancourt said. "We need to remember what we did here, work together as a team, rotate our guys differently than the way we did the first half of the season and keep moving forward."
Sye was the biggest contributor for the Warriors Monday night, using his superior inside game to put up a game-high 17 points while adding five rebounds. Guards Eric Anthony and Brandon Wilkinson also had double-figures for Lycoming, as both men finished with 11 points.
The Gothic Knights' best contributor was guard Josh Lopez, who amassed 15 points in the losing effort, though much of them came after the game was essentially concluded.
A daunting task awaits Lycoming in their next opponent. MAC-Commonwealth rival Arcadia University comes to Lamade on Saturday afternoon as part of a double-header, and Rancourt hasn't forgotten the difficult 61-56 loss his team suffered in Arcadia's turf on January 17.
"Arcadia did a great job against us last time," said Rancourt. "We need to keep that in mind as we go over the film and be certain to learn from our mistakes."
NEW JERSEY CITY (8-12)
Josh Lopez 5-13 0-0 15; Rashawn Smalls 3-12 0-2 7; Taquan Abdullah 2-4 0-0 4; Tom McDermott 1-4 2-5 4; Rashad Davis 1-3 0-2 2; Kyle Ingram 0-7 2-2 2; Pat Devaney 1-4 0-0 2; Farrakhan Wells 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 14-50 4-11 38.
LYCOMING COLLEGE (10-9)
Greg Sye 5-8 7-8 17; Brandon Wilkinson 4-5 0-0 11; Eric Anthony 4-9 0-0 11; Jemayne Nowlin 1-1 2-2 4; Austin Smith 2-2 0-0 4; Mike Bradley 0-1 3-4 3; Sebastian Sabella 1-4 0-0 3; Ethan Lee 0-0 2-2 2; Taylor Volpe 1-2 0-0 2; John Caggiano 0-1 0-0 0; Jay Scroggins 0-2 0-0 0; Anthony Watson 0-0 0-0 0; James Oberlies 0-1 0-0 0; Josh Chmelik 0-2 0-0 0; Will Kelly 0-3 0-0 0; Brandon McFarland 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-41 14-16 57.
Halftime:?Lycoming, 34-17. 3-point goals--New Jersey City 6-20 (Lopez 5-11; Smalls 1-2; Ingram 0-4; Pat Devaney 0-1; Farrakhan Wells 0-1; Taquan Abdullah 0-1), Lycoming College 7-17 (Anthony 3-7; Wilkinson 3-4; Sabella 1-3; Scroggins 0-2; Kelly 0-1). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--New Jersey City 33 (Wells 5; McDermott 5), Lycoming 32 (Bradley 6). Assists--New Jersey City 8 (Lopez 2; Wells 2), Lycoming 15 (Watson 4). Total fouls--New Jersey City 15, Lycoming College 16. Technical fouls--None. A-113
