Coming into Saturday's game against Salisbury, Lycoming was on pace to win its fourth consecutive title at the school's 15th annual Tip-Off Tournament. It probably would have succeeded in doing so if Salisbury's senior guard Travon Vann hadn't got in their way.
Vann scored a game-high 30 points and pulled in a game-high 18 rebounds as Salisbury beat Lycoming in the Tip-Off Tournament championship game 85-82 Saturday at Lamade Gymnasium.
Vann helped Salisbury jump out to an early 5-0 lead by recording a rebound, a free throw and a blocked shot in the game's opening 1 minute, 10 seconds. However, the Warriors were able to fight their way back into the game, as sophomore Patrick Dougher went on a first half flurry, scoring 14 points while going 4-for-5 from 3-point range.
After nine lead changes, Lycoming entered its locker room at halftime with a 41-38 lead. When they returned to the floor, the Warriors seemed poised to take control of the game, as they maintained the lead throughout most of the second half.
As the second half progressed, Salisbury's field goal percentage saw major improvements, going from 45.2 percent in the first-half to 73.9 percent in the second. Salisbury was 17 of 23 from the field in the second half. The?Sea Gulls also saw vast gains from 3-point range, shooting 5-for-7 in the second half despite missing all 10 of their attempts in the first half.
Ultimately, Lycoming's inability to stop Travone Vann in the paint is what led to their downfall. Vann took over in the second half, scoring 14 points on layups. He also pulled down six rebounds in the second half.
"He's a good player. Once he got that mindset that he could take it to the rack everytime, we just couldn't stop him," Lycoming sophomore guard Chris Foreman said of Vann. "They were a real big and strong team, but that's our fault, we just need to play better."
Three times during the second half Salisbury cut its defecit to just one point. It was finally able to recapture the lead when Craig Ryan plucked the ball from Lycoming's Ishaan Davis with 45 seconds left Vann, who threw down an emphatic dunk which put Salisbury up for good, 83-82.
In the final seconds of the game Vann, wh owas named the tournament's MVP, continued his reign of terror on Lycoming by blocking a Jerald Williams layup attempt, rebounding the ball after the block, and hitting two free throws after being fouled, which sealed Salisbury's three-point win.
"They are a very good rebounding team. They are physical and they execute, and they were able to do that throughout the game. You try to control hemorrhaging when it takes place in stretches, but Salisbury did a really nice job," Lycoming fifth-year head coach Guy Rancort said. "We just need to make sure that we are learning from situations like this and get better."
SALISBURY (3-0)
Travon Vann 12-16 6-7 30; Tim Harwood 3-8 8-8 16; Trent Epps 7-9 1-5 15; Craig Ryan 3-4 0-0 8; Elijah Gore 3-5 1-2 8; Chris Viqueira 3-7 0-0 6; Kyle Savercool 0-2 2-2 2; Luke Ruland 0-0 0-0 0; Dylan Robeson 0-0 0-0 0; Derrick Miller 0-1 0-0 0; Troy King 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-54 18-24 85.
LYCOMING (1-1)
Chris Foreman 5-13 2-3 16; Patrick Dougher 5-9 1-3 15; Kevin Anthony 4-6 3-4 11; William Wingate 4-8 2-3 10; Ihsaan Davis 4-11 0-0 10; Michael Rudy 3-4 0-0 8; Anthony Martin 1-4 2-2 4; John Monkam 1-3 1-2 3; Jerald Williams 1-5 1-3 3; Justin Miller 1-1 0-0 2; John Ryan Wolff 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-65 12-20 82.
Halftime - Lycoming 41, Salisbury 38. 3-point goals--Salisbury 5-17 (Craig Ryan 2-3; Tim Harwood 2-6; Elijah Gore 1-3; Kyle Savercool 0-1; Troy King 0-1; Chris Viqueira 0-2; Travon Vann 0-1), Lycoming 12-23 (Patrick Dougher 4-6; Chris Foreman 4-8; Michael Rudy 2-2; Ihsaan Davis 2-5; William Wingate 0-2). Fouled out-- None. Rebounds--Salisbury 42 (Travon Vann 18), Lycoming 26 (Kevin Anthony 6). Assists--Salisbury 18 (Travon Vann 6), Lycoming 22 (Jerald Williams 10). Total fouls--Salisbury 20, Lycoming 17. Technical fouls--None. A-456.
All-Tournament Team: Tyreke Taylor (OW), Denzel Mensah (PSUWB), Trent Epps (SU), Pat Dougher (LC), MVP: Travon Vann (SU)
