The communication as Lycoming lined up its final offensive possession of the first half seemed to be lacking.
Instead of working through the issues, and possibly missing a chance at a final shot, Chris Foreman dribbled the ball to shave a few seconds off the clock, pulled up and drained his third trey of the half.
Foreman accounted for 15 points and Anthony Martin added 24 as Lycoming opened Commonwealth Conference play with a 75-62 win over Alvernia at Lamade Gymnasium on Wednesday night .
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RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
Lycoming's Kevin Anthony (24) shoots for two over the head Alvernia's Chris Davis (5) during the first half on Wednesday night at Lamade Gym. Anthony finished with 12 points in the Warriors’ victory.
"Chris (Foreman) is shooting really well and doing a really good job," Lycoming coach Guy Rancourt said. "It was certainly a momentum changer to end the half."
Foreman's basket ended a 14-3 Alvernia run and put the Warriors' back ahead by six to close out the half. Foreman also preceded the run with a trey and added a layup to score the last eight points of the first half for Lycoming.
"We base our offense around scoring in the paint and getting shooters open," Lycoming junior Justin Miller said. "Scoring down low and scoring in transition is always a key to victory."
The Warriors (3-1, 1-0 Commonwealth Conference) won the battle in the paint, grabbing 51 rebounds compared to the Crusaders 40. The Warriors also outscored the Crusaders (1-1, 0-1), 42-26, in the paint and added 14 second-chance points.
"Coach always says we'll go as far as we can rebound," Miller said. "The whole team went to the glass to get rebounds tonight. We did a good job and it's why we got the victory."
Martin opened the game on fire and scored seven of the Warriors' first 11 points en route to leading the team with a game-high 24 points.
Martin was fouled as he attempted a 3-pointer over the stretch and nailed all three for a 9-5 Lycoming advantage.
"When you come from another college you're trying to get accustomed to the sets and everything," said Martin, who transfered to Lycoming last year. "This year, since I'm accustomed to everything, I'm not really learning on the fly. It's definitely more comfortable."
Martin displayed his comfort with the offense by icing the game's final two free throws and then hustling down the floor to grab the game-winning rebound.
"When you're at the line you try not to think about the situation," Martin said. "You just go through your routine and stay confident."
"We were in a lot of close games last year and the veteran players don't really panic in close situations. We just try to run our sets and get a stop."
Lycoming received double-digit point totals from four players.
Kevin Anthony, who finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, played another big game for the Warriors. Anthony blocked two shots on consecutive possessions in the first half to help extend Lycoming's 16-7 run to open.
