MIAMI, Fla. - For the second straight game, The University of Scranton men's basketball team used a late second-half rally to upend an opponent, as the Royals ended the game on an 8-0 run to take down UMass-Dartmouth, 66-63, in their final game at the 2019 Hoops MIA D3 Holiday Shootout Friday at Barry University.
With the victory (Scranton's fourth straight overall), the Royals will enter the long holiday break with an 8-2 mark. UMass-Dartmouth fell to 7-5 with the defeat.
To start the contest, UMass-Dartmouth came out on fire, opening up a quick 17-5 lead on the Royals in the first six minutes of regulation. But, the Royals awoke from their slow start, rolling on a 13-0 tear over a four-minute span to take their first lead of the afternoon at 18-17 with 10 minutes left in the first half.
From there throughout the first half, the lead swung back and forth between the squads. But, UMass-Dartmouth was the team that went into halftime with momentum, as they ended the period on a 7-0 run to break open a tie game (30-30) and take a 37-30 lead on the Royals entering the second half.
To start the second stanza, UMass-Dartmouth quickly went up nine (39-30), and held a lead throughout the opening ten minutes of the period, taking a 50-44 edge over the Royals with 10 minutes to go in regulation.
Here, Scranton went on a quick 7-0 run to take their first lead since the opening frame which was punctuated by a three-pointer by junior Logan Bailey (Scranton, Pa./Scranton Prep) that put the Royals up, 51-50, with 7:27 to go.
The lead for Scranton, however, was short-lived, as UMass-Dartmouth scored the next six points to go back up, 56-51, on the Royals with 6:26 left. But, once again, Scranton went on a big run, as another 7-0 spurt gave the Royals the lead back at 58-56 after sophomore Ben Bosland (Colts Neck, N.J./Colts Neck) nailed a jumper with five minutes to go.
The next few minutes, however, saw UMass-Dartmouth take control back, as a 7-0 run gave them the lead back at 63-58 with 2:39 to go.
But, in what turned out to be a game of runs, Scranton was the one that made the last, big push at the lead to take the victory.
First, with 1:59 left, a lay-in by sophomore Jackson Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights) made it a 63-60 game. After both teams traded missed baskets, Bosland made the biggest shot of the game with 1:03 left, as he drained a three to tie the game back up at 63-all.
On UMass-Dartmouth's next possession, they missed two shots, and after senior Matthew Mancuso (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) grabbed a rebound off the glass to give Scranton possession back, Bailey made a layup with 17 seconds left to give the Royals the lead back at 65-63 with 17 seconds left.
Down by two, UMass-Dartmouth had a chance to either tie or take the lead back, but the Scranton defense held, as freshman Stephen Braunstein (Colts Neck, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) recorded a steal with six seconds left. After being fouled, Braunstein made one of two free throws, giving Scranton a late three-point edge.
On the final possession of the game, UMass-Dartmouth got a three-pointer off at the buzzer, but it was no good, sealing the come-from-behind win for Scranton in the process.
Overall, Mancuso once again led the Royals in the scoring department, posting his third straight double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds. The double-double was the fifth overall for Mancuso, as with his 6-of-9 shooting performance, he once again scored in double-digits, doing so for the 10th straight game.
Elsewhere, Bailey finished with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Bosland had a big day, scoring 13 points (on 6-of-7 shooting) while dishing out five assists.
UMass-Dartmouth was led in the loss by Marcus Azor, who scored a game-high 18 points.
The University of Scranton men's basketball team will return to action on Saturday, January 4 when they take on King's in non-conference action. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
--ROYALS--