ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Junior Jerald Williams (Riverdale, Md./Bladensberg) turned in his biggest Valentine's Day to the Lycoming College men's basketball team almost as late as possible on Tuesday night, Feb. 14, at Elizabethtown, but his steal and two free throws with six seconds left helped lift the Warriors to a 69-68 win at the Thompson Gymnasium.
 
On Saturday against Widener, Williams missed a free throw with 11 seconds left that left the door open for the Pride in an eerily identical 69-68 game, which the Warriors lost. There was no such door left open on Tuesday night given the second chance, as the 5-7 guard coolly stepped to the line and knocked down both free throws and a last-second heave by Elizabethtown went off the mark, giving Lycoming (18-6 overall, 8-5 Commonwealth Conference) a critical conference win.
 
"Jerald has rebounded the ball very well down the stretch and he hit his free throws," Lycoming assistant coach Mark Marino said. "He is a winner and a competitior. I guarantee he wanted the ball in his hands at the end of the game (Tuesday)."
 
In a game that saw seven ties, six lead changes and 34 points and a school-record tying seven 3-pointers from Elizabethtown's Ben Cable, the Warriors persevered and moved within a game of earning its third bid to the conference playoffs in the last five years.
 
Down by five points with 3:25 left, the Warriors worked back into the game quickly, as a free throw from senior Mike Bradley (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) made it a four-point game 16 seconds later and a steal by freshman Patrick Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains-Fanwood) led to a layup by junior Anthony Martin (Detroit, Mich./Christ the King) with 2:41 left.
 
Lee Eckert broke a 95-second scoreless stretch with 1:06 left with a layup, but Martin responded with a three-point play with 55 seconds left. After a missed 3-pointer for the Blue Jays, Lycoming got the ball, but a missed shot and a defensive rebound made it seem like Elizabethtown was destined for the win before Williams' heorics.
 
With the score tied at 51, Elizabethtown converted four free throws to take a four-point lead. Lycoming answered back right away, as a 3-pointer from Williams tied the game at 55 with 6:52 left, before Cable hit a 3-pointer and David Feuz hit a jumper to make it a five-point game with 6:08 left. The Blue Jays kept the lead between five and six points before the Warriors clamped down defensively, allowing just one field goal in the last 3:25.
 
"We stuck to the game plan," Marino said. "We communicated on defense, attacked the rim down the stretch and got it done."
 
Down by two at halftime, the Blue Jays (8-15 overall, 4-9 Commonwealth) started the second half on a 13-2 run to take a 44-35 lead with 15:20. The Warriors hit the comeback trail, going on their own 12-2 run, capping it with a layup by senior Austin Smith (Lansdowne, Pa./Penn Wood) with 9:31 left. After that, the teams traded the lead three times before tying it at 51 on a layup by junior Ihsaan Davis (Jamaica, N.Y./Christ the King).
 
The Blue Jays got out to an 18-10 lead over the first nine minutes of the game, but the Warriors came roaring back with an 11-4 run that helped them close within a point on a four straight points by Martin with 5:56 left. The Warriors kept the pressure on, tying the game at 24 and taking the lead with a pair of jumpers from Anthony with 4:10 left.
 
Lycoming extended the lead to five points at 29-24 to cap the 19-6 run before Elizabethtown cut the lead to two points at intermission on a layup by Feuz with 10 seconds left.
 
The Warriors shot a solid 57 percent (13-of-23) in the first half and held a 20-14 rebounding advantage, but Elizabethtown used 10 turnovers and four 3-pointers to keep it close. Anthony posted 13 points and Williams notched seven assists in the period.
 
Anthony posted 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks and Bradley posted 11 points and five rebounds for the Warriors, who finished the game shooting 49 percent (24-for-49) from the floor. Williams added 10 points, nine assists and three steals and Davis added 10 points and five boards. Martin posted nine points, three assists and three blocks.
 
Cable hit 9-of-18 from the field and 7-of-14 from three en route to his 34 points and nine rebounds. Lee Eckert added 10 points and six rebounds and Kyle McConnell posted five assists.
 
The Warriors wrap up the regular season with another critical Commonwealth Conference game on Saturday, Feb. 18, when they host Alvernia at 3 p.m., as the game will decide playoff seeding. Before the game, seniors Bradley, Brandon McFarland (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) and Smith will be honored in a short ceremony.