RADNOR, Pa. – The ninth-ranked Cabrini men's basketball team pulled away midway through the second half to hand The University of Scranton a 98-79 defeat on Tuesday evening at Nerney Field House.

The loss was the first of the season for the Royals (3-1), who had four players in double figures in scoring, led by 23 points from junior guard Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy, N.J.). Junior guard Justin Klingman (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) added a career-high 17, senior guard Michael Barr (North Wales, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) had 12 and sophomore forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) added 11. 

Junior guard Aaron Walton-Moss (Camden, N.J./Camden) led five players in double figures with a game-high 33 points for Cabrini (4-0), which is ranked No. 9 in the D3hoops.com top 25. Walton-Moss, who was a fourth-team All-American by D3hoops.com last season, also had 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals while hitting 10 of 23 shots from the field, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.

The Cavaliers led by just four with 16:05 to play after Klingman canned a 3-pointer to cut the Royals' deficit to 60-56. But Cabrini scored the next seven points and pushed the lead to 15 at 78-63 with 10:36 remaining. Scranton cut the deficit to eight moments later on two more 3-pointers by Klingman, but would get no closer the rest of the way. 

The Royals shot 46.6 percent (27-for-58) from the field, including a sizzling 12 of 19 (63.2 percent) from 3-point range. Klingman was 5-for-6 from beyond the arc, Danzig was 4-for-5 and Barr was 3-for-6 for the Royals.

But it wasn't enough to keep up with Cabrini, which shot 55.2 percent (37-for-67) and 10-for-19 (52.6 percent) from 3-point range. The Cavaliers also made 14 of their 15 free throw attempts. 

Scranton won the rebounding battle, 39-29, led by Boken, who finished with eight boards, and senior forward Jason Pierce (Scranton, Pa./Conestoga/Lackawanna College), who had seven rebounds. Danzig and senior guard Tommy Morgan (Greenlawn, N.Y./Chaminade) led Scranton with four assists each.

The Royals, who are now 9-5 all-time against Cabrini, turned the ball over a season-high 23 times while forcing just 10 miscues by the Cavaliers. 

Scranton returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 30, when it hosts Mt. St. Mary (N.Y.) at 7 p.m. in the Long Center.

--ROYALS--