SCRANTON, Pa.—The University of Scranton kept their winning streaking alive with an impressive 76-68 victory over the defending Landmark Conference champion the United States Merchant Marine Academy Sunday afternoon at the Long Center.
The Royals set the tone early on, jumping out to an 11-2 lead in the game's opening four minutes. Scranton would increase its lead to as much as 22 points before taking a 40-20 advantage into halftime. This early success was due largely to the mobility of senior guard Luke Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Methacton), whose inside/outside capability resulted in 15 first-half points.
Sophomore Tim Lavelle (Clarks Green, Pa./Scranton Preparatory) also had a strong first half for the Royals, coming off the bench to score seven of his eventual season-best 10 points.
The Royals saw their lead diminish as the second half went on, thanks in part to careless fouls and a strong performance from the Mariner bench, which outscored the Royals bench 32-9 in the second half. Freshman guards Reed Buck (Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hill) and Michael Farace (Liberty Hill/Tx./Liberty Hill) led the Mariners bench scoring with nine and eight points, respectively.
Enter Royal senior guard Zach Ashworth (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West), who brought Scranton out of its tailspin. He scored nine of the Royals' final 20 points, including two clutch 3-pointers and three late free throws, to squash the Mariner rally. He finished with a game-high 22 points.
It all came down to execution, as the Royals shot 50% from the field, going 26 of 52, while the Mariners only shot 38.1%, failing to convert a large percentage of their 15 offensive rebounds.
Efforts from the free-throw line affected the proceedings very little, with Scranton finishing 16 of 24 (66.7 percent) and USMMA 17 of 24 (70.8 percent).
The Royals, who have now won eight games in a row to improve to 10-2 overall and 3-0 in the Landmark, will host Juniata College in the first day of next weekend's Landmark Conference Friday-Saturday doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. in the Long Center. On Saturday, Scranton hosts Susquehanna at 2:00 p.m.
News & Notes: Hawk scored all 15 of his points in the first half as the Royals shot nearly 54 percent from the field…Scranton now holds a 7-5 lead since the all-time series with the Mariners began on February 3, 1953…Ashworth scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, reminiscent of yesterday's 79-66 win over Drew, when he scored 18 of his 21 points after intermission.
Newspaper Box Score
SCRANTON 76, MERCHANT MARINE ACAD 68
MERCHANT MARINE (6-6/2-1 Landmark)
Tom Izzo 4-11 3-4 11; Matt Hueber 4-15 3-3 11; Reed Buck 4-4 0-0 9; Michael Farace 3-7 2-2 8; Jeffrey Mark 2-4 2-3 6; Kevin Kerr 1-5 2-4 5; Zach Karczewski 2-2 0-0 4; Nick Sergio 2-5 0-0 4; Bryan Lynch 1-3 0-0 3; Frankie Wiseley 1-1 0-0 2; Anthony Jones 0-3 2-2 2; Denver Effland 0-1 2-4 2; Richard Roach 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 24-63 17-24 68.
SCRANTON (10-2/3-0 Landmark)
Zach Ashworth 7-14 5-6 22; Luke Hawk 6-8 2-3 15; Tim Lavelle 3-5 2-2 10; Matt Swaback 3-8 1-4 8; Travis Farrell 2-5 3-4 7; Tommy Morgan 2-5 1-2 5; Andrew Wynne 1-2 2-2 4; Dan Hilferty 1-1 0-1 3; Edmond O'Connell 1-2 0-0 2; Nick Jaskula 0-1 0-0 0; Pat Mineo 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 16-24 76.
Merchant Marine Acad.......... 20 48 - 68
The University of Scranton.... 40 36 - 76
3-point goals--Merchant Marine Acad 3-11 (Kevin Kerr 1-3; Bryan Lynch 1-3; Reed Buck 1-1; Michael Farace 0-4), The University of Scranton 8-23 (Zach Ashworth 3-8; Tim Lavelle 2-3; Luke Hawk 1-1; Dan Hilferty 1-1; Matt Swaback 1-5; Pat Mineo 0-1; Edmond O'Connell 0-1; Tommy Morgan 0-1; Travis Farrell 0-2). Fouled out--Merchant Marine Acad-None, The University of Scranton-None. Rebounds--Merchant Marine Acad 39 (Matt Hueber 13), The University of Scranton 32 (Travis Farrell 7). Assists--Merchant Marine Acad 13 (Matt Hueber 3), The University of Scranton 16 (Tommy Morgan 4). Total fouls--Merchant Marine Acad 19, The University of Scranton 23. Technical fouls--Merchant Marine Acad-None, The University of Scranton-None. A-300