SCRANTON, Pa.--Big players make big shots in big games.
The University of Scranton took that saying literally Saturday afternoon in the championship game of the Radisson Invitational, securing a hard-fought 77-65 victory over Centenary College behind the 3-point shooting of the unlikely duo of 6'8 forwards Matt Swaback (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) and Andrew Wynne (Fairport, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit).
Swaback, who was named to the all-tournament team, finished with 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range.
But it was the Wynne, who hit back-to-back 3-pointers that were arguably the most important shots of the game, helping the Royals extend a 3-point lead to nine, 57-48, with 7:18 remaining. The Cyclones did cut the margin to four twice in the final four minutes, but Swaback answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to give Scranton a comfortable 10-point cushion with less than a minute remaining. Prior to today's game, Wynne had attempted only five 3-pointers in his four-year career.
Senior guard Zach Ashworth (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West), the tournament's most valuable player, offset a poor shooting performance from the field by connecting on all eight of his free three attempts to finish with a game-high 20 points, including 14 in the second half as Scranton erased a 32-28 halftime deficit. He also finished with nine rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes of action.
Sophomore forward Jacob Halicki (Pocono Summit, Pa./Pocono Mt. East) and senior guard and all-tournament selection Rob Urie (Ortley Beach, N.J./Toms River East) led the Cyclones, now 2-2, with 14 points apiece.
The Royals cooled off considerably today after shooting nearly 48 percent from the field, including 55 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, in last night's 81-53 victory over Arcadia University in the opening round. Scranton offset a 38.8 percent shooting effort from the field today by out-rebounding the Cyclones, 47-34, turning 20 offensive rebounds into 27 second-chance points.
Sophomore guard Travis Farrell (Middletown, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) led the Royals with a career-high 12 rebounds, including six on the offensive end, and finished with 10 points. Senior guard Luke Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) also played a key role today, finishing with 16 points and six assists, which tied his career-high.
The Royals, now 2-0, will take on Misericordia University this Tuesday, November 23, at the Anderson Center in Dallas, Pennsylvania. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
News & Notes: Ashworth moved ahead of Mark Beneski (1270 points, 1988-1992) and former high school and college teammate Randy Arnold (1272 points, 2004-2008) into 19th place on the Royals' all-time scoring list with 1,285 points…Scranton wins its third Radisson Invitational title in the tournament's nine-year history; the Royals also captured titles in 2003 and 2005…Farrell's previous high for rebounds was 11 in an 86-65 victory over Penn College of Technology in the third-place game of the PNC Bank Classic last January 3, 2010, at the Long Center…today's game was the first meeting ever between the Royals and Centenary College in men's basketball.
Newspaper Box Score
THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON 77, CENTENARY 65
CENTENARY (2-2)
Halicki, Jacob 4-10 6-8 14; Urie, Rob 6-15 0-0 14; Innocent, Ludner 5-13 2-3 12; Case, Josh 2-6 2-2 7; Atkinson, Will 2-6 0-0 6; Kearney, Corey 2-2 0-0 5; Hughes, Max 0-2 4-4 4; Donovan, Ryan 1-4 0-0 3; Lenahan, Larry 0-0 0-0 0; Cheavers, Gabe 0-0 0-0 0; Brix, Tim 0-0 0-0 0; Murphy, Warren 0-1 0-0 0; Cobian, Andrew 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 14-17 65.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (2-0)
Zach Ashworth 5-17 8-8 20; Matt Swaback 6-10 0-0 17; Luke Hawk 5-9 5-7 16; Travis Farrell 4-10 2-2 10; Andrew Wynne 3-4 0-0 8; Matt FitzPatrick 2-3 0-0 4; RJ Wallace 1-2 0-0 2; Tim Lavelle 0-6 0-0 0; Tommy Morgan 0-3 0-1 0; Dan Hilferty 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 26-67 15-18 77.
Centenary..................... 32 33 - 65
The University of Scranton.... 28 49 - 77
3-point goals--Centenary 7-16 (Atkinson, Will 2-5; Urie, Rob 2-4; Kearney, Corey 1-1; Case, Josh 1-3; Donovan, Ryan 1-1; Hughes, Max 0-1; Innocent, Ludner 0-1), The University of Scranton 10-34 (Matt Swaback 5-8; Zach Ashworth 2-10; Andrew Wynne 2-2; Luke Hawk 1-2; Tim Lavelle 0-5; Tommy Morgan 0-1; Dan Hilferty 0-2; Travis Farrell 0-4). Fouled
out--Centenary-None, The University of Scranton-None. Rebounds--Centenary 34
(Halicki, Jacob 10), The University of Scranton 47 (Travis Farrell 12).
Assists--Centenary 11 (Innocent, Ludner 4), The University of Scranton 19
(Luke Hawk 6). Total fouls--Centenary 15, The University of Scranton 19.
Technical fouls--Centenary-None, The University of Scranton-None. A-500
All tournament: Ortiz (Arcadia), Canahai (D'Youville), Urie (Centenary), Swaback (Scranton), Ashworth (Scranton) (MVP)