2021 Lycoming College Summer Magazine

Darius Dangerfield ’21 had developed into the best point guard in the conference by the end of his junior year, a year that came to an end in the first round of the NCAA Championships just one week before the COVID-19 pandemic halted the event. Dyson Harward ’23 won the MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the Year award, and the 6-8 forward looked at times like the most skilled forward that Lycoming had put on the court since the days of Matt Stackhouse ’04 and L. J. Huggler ’04. The pieces that third-year head coach Mike McGarvey had plugged in around those two blue chips were just as intriguing. Lengthy, energetic players that served as lockdown defenders like Mo Terry ’23 and DeAundre Manual ’23 and brickhouses with soft touch at the rim like D’Andre Edmond ’22 gave Lycoming its deepest set of forwards, maybe ever. ION The story of the LYCOMING COLLEGE second straight CONFERENCE TITLE Dangerfield was accompanied by smart, athletic guards like Matt Ilodigwe ’22 and Tobias Walden Jr. ’23, plus there were whispers of a pair of first-year guards that could change the dynamic of the backcourt in Brendan Blackson ’24 and Stephen Hamilton ’24. In August, the Warriors showed up on campus with the knowledge that there would be no competition until the spring semester. All practice had to be masked. Pickup games weren’t allowed. Defending was fine, as long as you didn’t get within six feet of any other player on the court. The semester rolled along without much change either. “We tried to make it fun,” McGarvey said. “The team was thankful to be on the court. When we had our hour or two hours of skill work and training, we tried to make it upbeat and invested in individual improvement.” Finally, in November, plans began to solidify within the Middle Atlantic Conference to return to competition. The team was brought back in mid-January and an antigen testing schedule was set for the squad, but it wasn’t until Jan. 26 that a schedule was released. It was eight games, but there was the opportunity to win a conference title at the end of it. “It was a relief that it was real,” McGarvey said. The season opened just three weeks later with a trip to New Jersey to face FDU- Florham. A 25-point win. The next night came with a 35-point win inside Lamade Gymnasium. “That set the stage for who I thought we could be in a short season,” said McGarvey. “It gave us a ceiling to reach.” Two nights later, the number of positive COVID cases on campus had grown by 150 percent and President Trachte paused in-person class and activities. For 10 days, the team did not practice. All of a sudden, there were fears about the ability to continue on-campus learning, let alone play another basketball game. “The reason we didn’t participate for 10 days was outside of our control, much like most of the pandemic for everyone,” McGarvey said. “We were accustomed to dealing with that, but at the same time, I’d be lying if I said we weren’t disappointed.” By the first weekend of March, the Warriors were ready to continue their season with the last four games. The Warriors posted a four-point win over Arcadia on Thursday night in their return — a tough, physical game against one of the best teams in the league. The next morning, McGarvey worried that his team seemed tired heading into that night’s game at Arcadia. The Warriors were dealt a 28-point loss. If it were one thing to be tired, it was a completely different feeling to be embarrassed. When the team got together two days later, practice was as focused as ever with undefeated DeSales coming to town on Friday. When it came time for that game, Ilodigwe broke a tie in the second minute of play by hitting his first of three 3-pointers and Lycoming never looked back in a 75-62 win, clinching a spot in the MAC Freedom Championship with a 4-1 record. The next night, the Warriors fell by four points to DeSales on the road, ensuring the championship game would be back in Center Valley. Like the Friday night game the week before that, the game wasn’t really close. A 31-6 run by Lycoming occupied much of the first half and made the second half little more than waiting for the clock to get to 0:00. “I could sense when we got off the bus on Friday night, the team was focused in a way that was different than most of the season,” McGarvey said. “Then we went out and played the best game of the season in the final game.” It wasn’t perfect. It was better than the alternative, though. No matter the shortcomings beyond their control, years from now, the 2020-21 Warriors will be exactly what many thought they could be: Champions. IN A NORMAL YEAR, THIS TEAMWOULD HAVE BEEN SOMETHING SPECIAL — THE KIND OF TEAM THAT LYCOMING MAY HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM’S 25 www.lycoming.edu