SCRANTON, Pa. - When the 3-pointers start raining, a team can score a bunch of points in a short period of time.

The University of Scranton, trailing for much of the first 28 minutes, unleashed a barrage of treys in a little over four minutes of the second half to down Catholic University, 79-64, at Long Center on Saturday afternoon.

Zach Ashworth, who led the Royals with 22 points, hit a trio of triples in the midst of a back-breaking 24-2 run to essentially seal the victory. Travis Farrell pumped in 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Tim Lavell scored a career-high 14 points, and Matt Swaback added 10 for Scranton, which made 59.3 percent of its second-half shots.

The Royals (16-4) improve to 9-2 and remain in the first place in the Landmark Conference. The Cardinals (15-7, 6-5) saw their four-game winning streak come to an end.

Jason Banzhaf paced CUA with 21 points and 11 rebounds, his 11th double-double of the year. Chris Kearney equaled his personal-high with 16 points and also blocked four shots. R.J. Dixon tallied 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.

The Cards led 48-44 with 13:17 remaining before it all unraveled. Lavelle got it started with a 3-pointer and Ashworth drained one from the top of the key. Following a Scranton steal and layup by Andrew Wynne, Ashworth and Lavelle made back-to-back 3's and Farrell scored a traditional three-pointer to make it 61-48. The Royals punctuated their 19-0 run on a steal and driving layup by Farrell.

Banzhaf ended the drought with a basket underneath before Ashworth hit a triple from NBA range. Farrell concluded the 24-2 blitzkrieg on a goaltending call against Kearney.

The Cardinal defense held Scranton scoreless for nearly seven minutes and turned a 17-12 deficit into a 21-17 advantage with 5:09 to play before the break. CUA took its biggest lead of the half, seven points, when Dixon dropped in a 3-pointer. Lavelle's layup and 3-ball drew the Royals within 33-30 at halftime.

Banzhaf scored the Cards' first four field goals and had 13 first-half points. Dixon had 10.

CUA went back up by seven on two Banzhaf free throws but Scranton responded with a 10-3 run to knot the game at 43.

The Cardinals will host Landmark Conference foe Drew University on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy comes to DuFour Center on Saturday at 4 p.m.