SCRANTON, Pa.—The University of Scranton look anything but rusty in the opening round of the PNC Bank Classic Sunday evening at the Long Center.
Playing their first game since December 15, the Royals, behind 17 points apiece from senior guard Zach Ashworth (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) and junior forward Matt Swaback (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Seminary), defeated Cazenovia College, 96-74, to move into Monday's championship game against Eastern University, which defeated Montclair St., 70-62, in the other semifinal game.
Scranton, which also received 14 points and nine rebounds from senior guard Luke Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) and 13 points, eight assists and five rebounds from sophomore guard Travis Farrell (Middletown, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy), shot 50 percent from the field in the first half to build up a 47-28 lead by intermission. Junior guard Bryant Winans (Afton, N.Y.) led the Wildcats, now 1-7, with 19 points and junior guard Darnell Sampson (Syracuse, N.Y.) added 13 points.
Cazenovia kept its close until the 7-minute mark of the first half, when Ashworth connected on three 3-pointers to ignite a 17-2 run to extend a 30-26 lead into a comfortable 19-point cushion by intermission.
The Royals were never seriously threatened after halftime.
For the game, Scranton shot 48 percent from the field, including 45 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, and connected on 15 of 19 free throw attempts (78.9 percent). The Royals also held a commanding 47-32 advantage on the boards.
In the first game, sophomore forward Alex Nelson (Port Republic, N.J.) scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the first half as Eastern built up a 35-25 lead by intermission. Senior forward Dan Miller (Lehighton, Pa.) came off the bench and connected on 5 of 6 shots from the field for the Eagles, who never trailed after intermission but did watch their lead get sliced to three points early in the second half. The win was the fourth straight for Eastern, now 8-1.
Junior forward Andrew August (Bridgewater, N.J.) and senior guard Tom Bonard (Westfield, N.J.) led the Red Hawks with 15 points apiece and sophomore guard Andrew Larkin (Passaic, N.J.) contributed 13 points. The loss snapped a 10-game winning streak for Montclair State, now 10-2.
Tomorrow's third-place game between Cazenovia College and Montclair St. will tip-off at 2:00 p.m., followed by Eastern and Scranton in the championship at 4:00 p.m. Live stats of both games will be available at the following web address: http://academic.scranton.edu/department/athletics/xlive.htm
News & Notes: Tonight's game was the first meeting ever between Scranton and Cazenovia…tomorrow's game between the Royals and Eastern will be the first between the two schools since Scranton defeated the Eagles, 91-62, on January 4, 1997, in a tournament played at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania…Swaback's 17-point effort was one shy of tying his career-high of 18 points in an 88-85 loss in overtime to Elizabethtown College on Sunday, November 28, 2010, at the Long Center…Scranton is in the midst of a season-long five-game winning streak.
Newspaper Box Score
EASTERN UNIVERSITY 70, MONTCLAIR ST. 62
EASTERN UNIVERSITY (8-1)
Alex Nelson 10-17 0-0 25; Dan Miller 5-6 3-3 13; Don Kaiser 4-4 0-0 8; Collin Whipple 3-7 1-3 7; Michael Donatoni 1-4 5-5 7; Martin Soaries 2-4 2-2 6; Chaz Merriman-Brown 1-1 0-0 2; Kyle Malloy 1-3 0-0 2; Tyler Stowers 0-2 0-0 0; Corey Gordon 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-49 11-13 70.
MONTCLAIR ST. (10-2)
Andrew August 6-10 3-4 15; Tom Bonard 5-8 0-0 15; A.J. Larkin 5-12 0-0 13; Sean Young 1-4 3-4 5; Rodney Freeney 2-10 0-0 4; Charles Miller 2-6 0-0 4; Michael Price 1-4 1-1 3; Sean Oguinnoiki 1-5 0-0 2; Tyrone Prewitt 0-5 1-2 1; Bryan Godfrey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-64 8-11 62.
Eastern University............ 35 35 - 70
Montclair St.................. 25 37 - 62
3-point goals--Eastern University 5-12 (Alex Nelson 5-7; Collin Whipple 0-2; Michael Donatoni 0-2; Corey Gordon 0-1), Montclair St. 8-22 (Tom Bonard 5-8; A.J. Larkin 3-8; Rodney Freeney 0-1; Charles Miller 0-1; Michael Price 0-1; Sean Oguinnoiki 0-3). Fouled out--Eastern University-None, Montclair St.-None. Rebounds--Eastern University 24 (Alex Nelson 6), Montclair St. 38 (Tyrone Prewitt 9). Assists--Eastern University 20 (Martin Soaries 6), Montclair St. 16 (A.J. Larkin 5; Tom Bonard 5). Total fouls--Eastern University 11, Montclair St. 18. Technical fouls--Eastern University-None, Montclair St.-None. A-100
Newspaper Box Score
SCRANTON 96, CAZENOVIA 74
CAZENOVIA COLLEGE (1-7)
Bryant Winans 6-13 1-2 19; Darnell Sampson 6-15 0-2 13; Brandon Haughton 3-6 2-2 10; Ryan Hodownes 3-5 0-0 9; Andrew Matson 1-4 4-4 6; Cameron Smith 2-6 1-2 5; Dieter Clauess 1-2 2-5 4; Robert Rohrig 1-3 1-2 3; Kris Bain 1-1 0-1 2; Aaron Vickers 1-1 0-1 2; Andrew Jensen 0-2 1-2 1; Joe Nichols 0-1 0-0 0; Brendan Harnett 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 12-23 74.
SCRANTON (7-2)
Zach Ashworth 5-9 4-6 17; Matt Swaback 7-9 1-1 17; Luke Hawk 5-8 4-6 14; Travis Farrell 4-10 4-4 13; Tim Lavelle 3-5 0-0 7; Edmond O'Connell 3-6 1-1 7; Nick Jaskula 2-6 0-0 4; Andrew Wynne 2-4 0-0 4; Michael Barr 1-2 0-0 3; Dan Hilferty 1-4 0-0 3; Pat Mineo 1-4 1-1 3; Mike Marchman 1-2 0-0 2; Tommy Morgan 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 36-75 15-19 96.
Cazenovia College............. 28 46 - 74
The University of Scranton.... 47 49 - 96
3-point goals--Cazenovia College 12-22 (Bryant Winans 6-11; Ryan Hodownes 3-4; Brandon Haughton 2-2; Darnell Sampson 1-2; Joe Nichols 0-1; Cameron Smith 0-2), The University of Scranton 9-20 (Zach Ashworth 3-5; Matt Swaback 2-4; Michael Barr 1-1; Tim Lavelle 1-2; Dan Hilferty 1-3; Travis Farrell 1-2; Tommy Morgan 0-1; Pat Mineo 0-1; Edmond O'Connell 0-1). Fouled out--Cazenovia College-None, The University of Scranton-None. Rebounds--Cazenovia College 32 (Robert Rohrig 6), The University of Scranton 47 (Luke Hawk 9). Assists--Cazenovia College 14 (Ryan Hodownes 4), The University of Scranton 24 (Travis Farrell 8). Total fouls--Cazenovia College 17, The University of Scranton 19. Technical fouls--Cazenovia College-None, The University of Scranton-None. A-200