A strong presence in the paint highlighted one of the Warriors’ best defensive showings of the season in which Penn College was held to 26.4 percent shooting (14-for-53) from the field. Lycoming blocked eight Wildcat shots led by four rejections from freshman Greg Sye.
Superior ball movement proved to be the other catalyst for Lycoming evidenced by a season-best 22 total assists. Senior Brad Musser teased the crowd by flirting with a new career assists mark. Coming into the match up, Musser needed a second-straight 14-assist showing to becoming the new passing king in Warrior basketball history. He notched 12 on the evening, an impressive number in itself, but leaves himself one short of tying Shaun Morris’ record of 355 career assists.
A trio of Warriors scored in double figures led by senior forward Jonathan Pribble’s 18 points. Sophomore Dave Wilson dropped in an efficient 16 tallies on 8-of-11 shooting, and fellow second-year man Kevin Morris cashed-out 14 points with a team-best seven rebounds.
Matt Melusky was the only Wildcat in double figures with 12 points. Preston Peterson dropped in eight points while Nick Reynolds was strongest on the glass with seven rebounds.
Lycoming faced an active zone defense for the second straight game, but unlike the early going against Elmira College, Lycoming needed little time to adjust to the closed-off interior. Morris opened the game with a three-ball, one of six first half buckets from beyond the arc. The Warriors’ earliest presence from three-point range went a long way to softening the interior of Penn College’s zone set.
Despite a three-minute lull in which the score remained 20-11, Lycoming was solid from the field at 46.9 percent on 15-32 shooting. By the half-time, the Warriors had opened up an insurmountable 39-19 advantage.
In the second half, Penn College’s shooting had no place to go but up from its first stanza 22.2 percent (6-of-27 from the field) shortcoming. Lycoming remained poised throughout the final 20 minutes, maintaining its strong defensive pressure in allowing the Wildcats only eight field goals on 26 shots (30.0 percent).
The Warriors are next in action on December 29 and 30 at the “Mose” Hole/Kiwanis Tournament hosted by The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. On the first night, Lycoming squares off against Thiel College at 5:30 p.m. The tournament format continues on day two with the consolation match at 5:30 p.m. followed by the championship contest at 7:30 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Penn College vs Lycoming College 12/19/05 7:00 PM at Williamsport, Pa. At Williamsport, Pa. LYCOMING COLLEGE 69, PENN COLLEGE 43 PENN COLLEGE (5-7) Matt Melusky 3-10 6-10 12; Preston Peterson 3-12 1-2 8; Nick Reynolds 2-5 0-0 5; Lou Roskowski 1-2 3-4 5; Roberto Valentin 1-1 0-0 3; Anthony Sofranek 1-1 0-0 3; Troy Flint 1-7 0-0 2; Tom Little 1-3 0-0 2; Steve Young 1-4 0-0 2; Matt Michaels 0-6 0-0 0; Craig Flint 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 14-53 11-18 43. LYCOMING COLLEGE (6-4) Jonathan Pribble 7-16 1-2 18; Dave Wilson 8-11 0-0 16; Kevin Morris 4-11 3-4 14; Derrick Dull 3-4 0-0 6; Greg Sye 3-5 0-0 6; Patrick Baylor 2-4 0-0 4; Brad Musser 1-4 0-0 3; Matt McGair 1-1 0-0 2; Shawn Harper 0-2 0-0 0; Anthony Watson 0-2 0-0 0; Brandon Wilkinson 0-2 0-0 0; Kevin Arvai 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-64 4-6 69. Penn College.................. 19 24 - 43 Lycoming College.............. 39 30 - 69 3-point goals-Penn College 4-16 (Anthony Sofranek 1-1; Roberto Valentin 1-1; Preston Peterson 1-3; Nick Reynolds 1-2; Steve Young 0-2; Matt Michaels 0-2; Craig Flint 0-1; Troy Flint 0-2; Lou Roskowski 0-1; Matt Melusky 0-1), Lycoming College 7-27 (Kevin Morris 3-7; Jonathan Pribble 3-10; Brad Musser 1-3; Patrick Baylor 0-2; Brandon Wilkinson 0-2; Kevin Arvai 0-1; Dave Wilson 0-2). Fouled out--Penn College-None, Lycoming College-None. Rebounds-Penn College 32 (Nick Reynolds 7), Lycoming College 46 (Kevin Morris 7). Assists-Penn College 5 (Preston Peterson 3), Lycoming College 22 (Brad Musser 12). Total fouls-Penn College 10, Lycoming College 18.