HUNTINGDON, Pa.—It turns out that The University of Scranton didn't need to win after all today to clinch the number one seed in the upcoming Landmark Conference tournament.
Despite dropping an 86-69 decision to Juniata College this afternoon at the Kennedy Sports & Recreation Center, the Royals got a break when Catholic University downed the Merchant Marine Academy, 64-62, to give Scranton the tiebreaker over Drew should the two teams wind up tied after the regular-season ends next weekend.
Good thing, too, because the Royals didn't seem to have much spring in their step after last night's 86-77 win at Susquehanna. Scranton did manage to cut a 13-point halftime deficit down to six points midway through the second half, but the Eagles responded with a 20-10 run to put the game out of reach.
Freshman forward Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College Area) led the Eagles with 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting from the field and freshman guard Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W.Va./John Marshall), senior forward Bruce Knowles (Duncannon, Pa./Susquenita) and junior center Austin Ankeny (Somerset, Pa./Somerset) chipped in 18, 16 and 13 points, respectively.
The Eagles shot 52 percent from the field, including 50 percent from the 3-point arc, and buried 26 of 32 free throw attempts (81.3 percent) to improve to 12-12 overall and 5-8 in the conference.
Senior guards Luke Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) and Zach Ashworth (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) combined for 37 points and freshman guard Michael Barr (North Wales, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) came off the bench to finish with a season-high 10 points.
Scranton, now 17-5 overall and 10-3 in the Landmark Conference, shot only 39 percent from the field, including just 25 percent (7 of 28) from beyond the 3-point arc.
Although there are still a number of scenarios to be played out, the four teams for the upcoming Landmark Conference tournament have been decided. Scranton is the top seed, with Drew, Catholic and Merchant Marine landing the other three spots. Drew still has to play at Goucher this evening before ending the season next Saturday on the road against Merchant Marine, while Catholic hosts Goucher.
The Royals will host Moravian College next Saturday, February 19, at 4:00 p.m. in the Long Center. Prior to tip-off, Ashworth, Hawk and forward Andrew Wynne (Fairport, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit) will be honored as part of Senior Day festivities.
News & Notes: Scranton is now 1-3 against Juniata at the Kennedy Sports & Recreation Center since joining the Landmark Conference in 2007…the Royals lead the all-time series with the Eagles, 33-10…Ashworth is now nine points shy of 1700 for his career (1691).
Newspaper Box Score
JUNIATA 86, SCRANTON 69
SCRANTON (17-5/10-3 Landmark)
Luke Hawk 7-9 5-8 19; Zach Ashworth 5-16 5-10 18; Michael Barr 3-5 1-2 10; Travis Farrell 3-7 2-2 8; Edmond O'Connell 2-2 0-0 5; Tim Lavelle 2-9 0-0 4; Matt Swaback 1-2 2-3 4; Nick Jaskula 0-0 1-2 1; Matt FitzPatrick 0-0 0-0 0; Andrew Wynne 0-1 0-0 0; Mike Marchman 0-0 0-2 0; Dan Hilferty 0-4 0-0 0; Pat Mineo 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 23-59 16-29 69.
JUNIATA (12-12/5-8 Landmark)
Brian Scholly 8-11 0-0 21; Jeremy Hays 6-9 4-5 18; Bruce Knowles 5-7 6-8 16; Austin Ankney 2-4 9-9 13; Nate Higgins 3-5 1-2 7; Alex Raymond 1-6 2-2 5; Kevin Snyder 0-0 3-4 3; Dan Sekulski 1-4 0-0 2; Carlton Logue 0-0 1-2 1; Nick Pappas 0-0 0-0 0; Lucas Mellott 0-2 0-0 0; Pat Cassidy 0-1 0-0 0; Tim Berguson 0-0 0-0 0; Dimitri Ross 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-50 26-32 86.
The University of Scranton.... 30 39 - 69
Juniata....................... 43 43 - 86
3-point goals--The University of Scranton 7-28 (Zach Ashworth 3-10; Michael Barr 3-5; Edmond O'Connell 1-1; Matt Swaback 0-1; Dan Hilferty 0-1; Pat Mineo 0-3; Tim Lavelle 0-3; Travis Farrell 0-4), Juniata 8-16 (Brian Scholly 5-7; Jeremy Hays 2-3; Alex Raymond 1-3; Nate Higgins 0-1; Pat Cassidy 0-1; Dimitri Ross 0-1). Fouled out--The University of Scranton-Tim Lavelle, Juniata-Alex Raymond. Rebounds--The University of Scranton 37 (Matt Swaback 8), Juniata 34 (Bruce Knowles 5; Austin Ankney 5; Jeremy Hays 5). Assists--The University of Scranton 11 (Matt Swaback 2; Dan Hilferty 2; Andrew Wynne 2; Pat Mineo 2), Juniata 20 (Jeremy Hays 7). Total fouls—The University of Scranton 30, Juniata 25. Technical fouls--The University of Scranton-None, Juniata-TEAM. A-750