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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Down by five with 5:45 remaining, senior Brendon Blackson led the Lycoming College men's basketball team by scoring eight points during a 10-point run that helped Lycoming surge past the University of St. Joseph (Conn.), who is receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com poll, 77-73, to open St. Joseph's Holiday Tournament on Friday.
The Warriors (5-5 overall) will now play for the St. Joseph Holiday Tournament title against UMass-Dartmouth (4-5 overall), 83-80 overtime winners over Wentworth in the first game of the tournament, on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Four Warriors finished in double figures and two grabbed at least 10 boards, as they outrebounded the Blue Jays, 46-37, and shot 41 percent from 3-point range (12-of-29) while St. Joseph hit 4-of-21 from deep against the Warrior defense.
The Warriors are just the fifth team to beat St. Joseph at James A. Calhoun Gymnasium since 2019, a run of 57 games.
Senior Steven Hamilton led the Warriors with 16 points and four assists, Blackson added 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals, freshman Hayden Pardoe, a Central Mountain graduate, added 12 points and 12 rebounds and sophomore J.J. Beagle, a Williamsport graduate, notched 10 points and four rebounds. Both sophomore Isaiah Valentine posted nine points, 11 rebounds and two assists and junior Ivan Komitski also had nine points, as he joined Hamilton and Blackson with three 3-pointers.
Down 66-61 after a jumper from Tyree Mitchell with 5:45 left, the Warriors began their run off a 3-pointer late in the shot clock from Blackson, then Blackson hit a layup with 4:05 left to tie the game. After a missed St. Joseph free throw, the Warriors answered deep in the shot clock again with a jumper from Pardoe, then Blackson hit a huge 3-pointer with 1:26 left to make it 71-66.
The Warriors hit 6-of-8 at the free-throw line in the final 90 seconds to ice the game, while St. Joseph was only able to close within a possession once, with eight seconds left at 76-73.
The Warriors started the game on a 19-8 run in the first 7:17 and after the Blue Jays fought back to take a one-point lead with 10:04 left, the Warriors embarked on a 14-2 run to lead 33-22 with 4:08 left, helping them lead 35-26 at the end of the half.
The Blue Jays used the first seven minutes of the second half to take a five-point lead at 50-45, embarking on a bulk of the game's 10 lead changes and two ties in the next seven minutes before Blackson ignited the Warriors on their game-winning 10-point run.
Jalen Samuels led the Blue Jays with 23 points and 13 rebounds and Mitchell added 21 points and eight rebounds. Jared Simmons also posted 14 points.
LYCOMING (5-5)
Mavin James 2-3 0-0 5; J.J. Beagle 5-7 0-0 10; Steven Hamilton 6-16 1-4 16; Brendon Blackson 4-11 2-3 13; Isaiah Valentine 3-8 3-4 9; Hayden Pardoe 3-9 5-9 12; J.T. Kirbie -0 0-0 0; Ivan Komitski 3-7 0-0 9; Misaias Herrera 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 27-65 11-20 77.
SAINT JOSEPH (8-4)
Friedich Feldrappe 0-3 0-0 0; Ben Carroll 0-0 0-0 0; JOnathan Box 2-6 0-0 5; Jared Simmons 2-6 8-9 14; Kevin Cummings 1-3 0-0 2; Chaylyn MArtin 1-6 1-2 3; Jalen Samuels 8-13 7-11 23; Lence Altenor 2-11 0-0 5; Tyree Mitchell 10-17 1-1 21; Alijah Lovelace 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-65 17-23 73.
Halftime: Lycoming 35-26. 3-point goals: L 12-29 (Hamilton 3-6, Blackson 3-4, Komitski 3-7, James 1-2, Pardoe 1-3, Herrera 1-4, Valentine 0-3), L 4-21 (Simmons 2-5, Box 1-2, Altenor 1-6, Cummings 0-1, Martin 0-1, Samuels 0-1, Feldrappe 0-1, Mitchell 0-4). Fouled out: L-none; SJ-Mitchell. Rebounds: L 46 (Pardoe 12, Valentine 11), SJ 37 (Samuels 13). Assists: L 18 (Blackson 5), SJ 8 (Martin 3). Technical fouls: L-none; SJ-none. Total fouls: L 15, SJ 17. A: 631.