Musser needed just two assists to surpass 2005 graduate Shaun Morris as the all-time assists king. He took care of his own early with six dimes in the first half while leading the Warriors on a high-octane first 20 minutes of play. Musser now has 363 career assists.
Both teams shot a combined 39-of-70 (55.7 percent) from the field in the opening half on the way to one of the highest scoring contests of the season for Lycoming. Senior Jonathan Pribble led four Warriors in double figures with a game-high 30 points on 11-for-15 shooting. He canned five three-pointers while ripping down a personal season-best 14 rebounds. Sophomore Kevin Morris followed up with a 19-point effort while freshman Greg Sye tallied 10 with seven rebounds. Freshman Shawn Harper was strong his first collegiate start with 10 points and eight boards.
The Tomcats also had four players in double-digits led by 23 points from guard James Beedle. Post Joe Herrmann followed up with a dozen tallies while swingmen Stephen Laird and Geno Bianco dropped in 10 apiece.
Lycoming proved too much for Thiel underneath the baskets evidenced by a commanding 53-28 edge in rebounding. The Warriors pulled down 15 offensive rebounds that led to 18 second chance points, and outscored the Tomcats 38-26 in the paint.
Defense was an afterthought throughout the first stanza as the two squads raced up and down the court for quick scores. Lycoming sprinted to a 14-6 advantage with a little more than five minutes gone after Pribble dialed from long distance. Musser assisted Pribble on the score marking his record-breaking 356th career assist.
Thiel closed the gap quickly and took its first lead of the game at 19-18 with a little more than 11 minutes left to play in the period. After senior Patrick Baylor nailed a three to regain Lycoming’s lead, the pace quickened to a neck-wrenching pace. Junior Derrick Dull capped the half’s scoring with a tip-in just seconds before the horn to send the Warriors into the intermission up 50-43.
The first period scoring outburst marked the most points Lycoming has scored this season in any single half of play.
Shooting slowed for both teams in the second half, but the Warriors’ rejuvenated defensive pressure squeezed Thiel down to a 28.9 percent showing (11-for-38 from the field). The Warriors extended its perimeter defense to beyond the three-point arc, forcing the Tomcats to shoot from well outside their comfort zone. On the interior, Thiel was no match for Lycoming’s muscle as Sye and Harper controlled much of the action inside the paint.
The Warrriors’ advantage reached 25 points on two separate occasions, the last coming with 8:04 on the clock. Lycoming cruised the rest of the way to its fourth straight victory and fifth in the last six games.
Lycoming moves on to face Baldwin-Wallace College, the 18th ranked team in NCAA Division III basketball. The Yellow Jackets knocked off second rated Wooster in Thursday night’s finale 113-108 in a double-overtime thriller. Game start between Lycoming and B-W is set for 7:30 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of Friday’s first match between Thiel and Wooster.
Newspaper Box Score Lycoming College vs Thiel College 12/29/05 5:30 p.m. at Timken Gymnasium; Wooster, Ohio At Timken Gymnasium; Wooster, Ohio LYCOMING COLLEGE 94, THIEL COLLEGE 75 LYCOMING COLLEGE (7-4) Jonathan Pribble 11-15 3-3 30; Kevin Morris 6-14 5-8 19; Shawn Harper 4-5 2-3 10; Greg Sye 3-4 4-4 10; Derrick Dull 2-5 4-4 8; Brad Musser 2-8 0-0 5; Patrick Baylor 2-5 0-0 5; Matt Clemons 1-1 0-0 2; Dave Wilson 1-6 0-0 2; Matt McGair 1-1 0-0 2; Kevin Arvai 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 33-66 19-24 94. THIEL COLLEGE (2-8) James Beedle 8-13 4-6 23; Joe Herrmann 6-17 0-0 12; Geno Bianco 4-8 0-0 10; Stephen Laird 4-8 1-2 10; Andre Jones 3-4 0-1 7; Damien Williams 2-4 0-0 6; Gary Gates 1-4 0-0 3; Brad Bowman 1-6 0-0 2; Dan Quiring 1-1 0-0 2; Bob Reinhard 0-2 0-0 0; Tony White 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 30-72 5-9 75. Lycoming College.............. 50 44 - 94 Thiel College................. 43 32 - 75 3-point goals-Lycoming College 9-22 (Jonathan Pribble 5-7; Kevin Morris 2-9; Patrick Baylor 1-4; Brad Musser 1-1; Dave Wilson 0-1), Thiel College 10-36 (James Beedle 3-7; Damien Williams 2-4; Geno Bianco 2-5; Andre Jones 1-2; Stephen Laird 1-3; Gary Gates 1-3; Bob Reinhard 0-1; Tony White 0-2; Brad Bowman 0-3; Joe Herrmann 0-6). Fouled out--Lycoming College-None, Thiel College-None. Rebounds-Lycoming College 53 (Jonathan Pribble 14), Thiel College 28 (Joe Herrmann 8). Assists-Lycoming College 21 (Brad Musser 9), Thiel College 19 (Joe Herrmann 4; James Beedle 4). Total fouls-Lycoming College 14, Thiel College 19. A-511 Brad Musser (LYC) breaks school record for career assists (363).