SCRANTON, Pa.—The University of Scranton improved its winning streak to seven games with a hard-fought 79-66 victory over Drew University Saturday afternoon in the John Long Center.
The first half showed all the promise of a nail-biter, with the Royals going into halftime with a slender 29-28 lead. The Rangers started the second half out strongly, taking a 47-42 lead, but two free throws and a gutsy and-one lay-up from senior forward Andrew Wynne's (Fairport, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit) jumpstarted a 17-4 run that put the Royals up 59-51. All hopes of a Ranger comeback were thwarted by the steady foul shooting of the Royals, who made eight of their last ten free throws to seal the victory.
Senior guard Zach Ashworth (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) led the Royals with 21 points, 18 of which came in the second half. Ashworth was also invaluable down the stretch, going eight of nine from the line.
Junior forward Matt Swaback (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) and senior guard Luke Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) played their part well on the low-blocks for the Royals, scoring 16 and 12 points, respectively, and pulling down a combined ten rebounds.
Junior guard Asmar Capers (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) was a constant threat for the Rangers, leading all scorers with 29 points on 10 of 17 shooting while going eight for eight from the free-thrown line. Sophomore guard Terrell Brown (Camden, N.J./Woodrow Wilson) also had a strong game for Drew, scoring 10 points before fouling out with 2:41 remaining.
Sophomore guard Travis Farrell (Middletown, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) kept the Royals afloat in the first half, scoring nine points on four of five shooting while the Royals shot only 31 percent as a team.
Fouls leading eventual free-throw attempts were the major decider. Drew committed 24 fouls to Scranton's 17, putting the Royals in the bonus for the most of the second half. Scranton would go on to shoot 33 free-throws, converting 26. Drew finished 12 of 12 from the line.
The Royals, now 9-2 overall and 2-0 in the Landmark, will host The United States Merchant Marine Academy tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 pm in the Long Center.
News & Notes: Ashworth scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half…Royals shot nearly 59 percent from the field in the second half (14 of 24), including 62.5 percent from beyond the 3-point arc…Drew was 12 of 12 from the free throw line….Scranton held a 34-28 advantage in rebounding...Capers scored 17 of his game-high 29 points in the second half.
Newspaper Box Score
SCRANTON 79, DREW 66
DREW (4-8/0-2 Landmark)
Asmar Capers 10-17 8-8 29; Terrell Brown 5-10 0-0 10; Kyle Joyce 3-8 0-0 8; Dara McKeon 2-6 2-2 6; Mike Mayes 1-6 2-2 4; Luke Mullaney 1-3 0-0 3; Evan Elberg 1-2 0-0 2; Lucas Levenson 1-2 0-0 2; McNeil Wrice 1-2 0-0 2; John Ford 0-1 0-0 0; Nick Ganzfried 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-57 12-12 66.
SCRANTON (9-2/2-0 Landmark)
Zach Ashworth 5-14 8-9 21; Matt Swaback 5-8 4-7 16; Travis Farrell 5-7 4-6 15; Luke Hawk 3-8 5-6 12; Andrew Wynne 1-2 3-3 5; Edmond O'Connell 2-4 0-0 4; Dan Hilferty 1-4 2-2 4; Tommy Morgan 1-5 0-0 2; Tim Lavelle 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 26-33 79.
Drew.......................... 28 38 - 66
Scranton.................... 29 50 - 79
3-point goals--Drew 4-15 (Kyle Joyce 2-5; Luke Mullaney 1-2; Asmar Capers 1-5; Mike Mayes 0-1; John Ford 0-1; Dara McKeon 0-1), The University of Scranton 7-17 (Zach Ashworth 3-8; Matt Swaback 2-3; Luke Hawk 1-2; Travis Farrell 1-1; Tommy Morgan 0-1; Tim Lavelle 0-1; Dan Hilferty 0-1). Fouled out--Drew-Terrell Brown, The University of Scranton-None. Rebounds--Drew 28 (Asmar Capers 8), The University of Scranton 34 (Matt Swaback 6). Assists--Drew 10 (Asmar Capers 6), The University of Scranton 17 (Tommy Morgan 4). Total fouls--Drew 24, The University of Scranton 17. Technical fouls--Drew-None, The University of Scranton-None. A-350