ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Connor Moffatt hit a long three-pointer at the buzzer to lift host Elizabethtown to a 67-64 victory over The University of Scranton in Landmark Conference men's basketball action on Saturday as the Blue Jays dealt the 25th ranked Royals their first setback of the season.
Trailing 64-62 with 46 seconds remaining in regulation, junior Kyle DeVerna (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) made a pair of free throws to knot the score up for Scranton (12-1, 1-1 Landmark). Following a miss by Elizabethtown (6-6, 1-1 Landmark), a missed shot by the Royals in the closing seconds was rebounded by Moffatt, who raced up the floor to put up the game-winning shot just ahead of the final horn.
Freshman Jackson Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights) had a big game for Scranton in the loss, recording his first career double-double with season-highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds to go along with six assists and two blocks, posting game-highs in all four columns.
DeVerna finished with 15 points while sophomore Logan Bailey (Scranton, Pa./Scranton Prep) added 13 points for the Royals on the day.
Scranton built its largest lead of the game midway through the first half, 22-14, when freshman Ben Bosland (Colts Neck, N.J./Colts Neck) drained a three-pointer to make it an eight-point game. Elizabethtown used a 16-8 run over the next six minutes to knot the game up at 30-30 with four minutes left in the half.
DeVerna put the Royals back in front with a three-pointer of his own, but the Blue Jays netted seven of the final nine points of the half to take a 37-35 lead into the halftime break.
Elizabethtown extended its lead to eight points twice in the opening six minutes of the second half before Scranton used a 13-2 surge to claim a 54-51 lead on a trey from Danzig with 9:44 left in regulation.
The Royals maintained the lead for the next six minutes before the Blue Jays used a three-pointer to take a 61-60 edge. Sophomore Nolan Genasevich (Sugarloaf, Pa./Home School) scored on a layup on Scranton's next possession to put the visitors back in front, but another trey from Elizabethtown gave the hosts a 64-62 edge with three and a half minutes left.
Neither team would score for nearly three minutes to set the stage for the thrilling final 46 seconds of the contest.
For the game, the Blue Jays shot 41.7 percent from the field, 47.1 percent from three-point range, and were 9-of-17 (52.9 percent) from the free throw line.
The Royals went 44.4 percent from the floor, 45.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 60 percent (6-for 10) from the charity stripe.
Turnovers proved costly for Scranton, which was held to a season-low 64 points, as Elizabethtown held an 18-4 advantage in points off of turnovers in the contest. The Royals committed 18 turnovers on the day to 13 for the Blue Jays.
Elizabethtown, which held a 36-35 edge on the glass, also saw its bench outscore Scranton's by a 20-8 margin.
Bosland added six rebounds while sophomore Brian Monaghan (Florham Park, N.J./Morristown-Beard) collected a pair of steals in the contest for the Royals.
Scranton will visit Moravian on Wednesday night for a Landmark Conference tilt starting at 7 p.m. in Bethlehem.