RADNOR, Pa.—The University of Scranton men's basketball team was in prime position to knock 11th-ranked Cabrini College from the unbeaten ranks Saturday evening at Nerney Field House.

Instead, the Royals settled for another frustrating loss, as senior guard Cory Lemons (Wilmington, Del./Glasgow) sparked a rally to lift the Cavaliers to a 71-68 victory.  Lemons finished with 16 points and junior guard Jeremy Knowles (Antioch, Calif/Pittsburg) added 15 as Cabrini overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to improve to 8-0.

Sophomore guard Tommy Morgan (Greenlawn, NY/Chaminade) tied his season-high with 17 points, freshman guard Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy-NJ) finished with 15 points, and senior guard Luke Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Methaction) had 12 as the Royals lost their second straight game to fall to 4-4.

Scranton, which has lost three games on the road this year by a total of eight points, committed a number of costly miscues down the stretch.  Hanging on to a 68-66 lead, the Royals missed four free throws in the final 1:47 and the Cavaliers were more than willing to cash in on Scranton's mistakes.  

Junior guard A.J. Williams (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) gave Cabrini its first lead of the second half with a 3-pointer with 1:40 left and Lemons made it a 3-point game by connecting on a pull-up jump shot with 23 seconds remaining on a clear-out situation on the Cavaliers' final possession.

Nevertheless, the Royals still had an opportunity to tie it, but Morgan's 3-pointer rimmed out as the final buzzer sounded, reminiscent of last Saturday's 60-59 loss to Elizabethtown when Danzig missed a shot as time expired.

Cabrini's 32-game home winning streak at Nerney Field House appeared to be in jeopardy.  The Royals opened the second half on a 14-6 run to turn a 38-33 halftime lead into a 13-point advantage    

Sophomore forward Fran Rafferty (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) then came to the rescue for Cabrini, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the final 14 minutes of play as Cabrini cut the lead to one three times before Williams finally put them ahead for good with his 3-pointer with 1:40 remaining.

The Royals shot 51 percent from the field, but committed a season-high 23 turnovers, including 11 in the second half.   

Scranton will take on North Central (Ill.) in the Daytona Beach Shootout in Daytona Beach, Florida, this Monday, December 19, at 8:00 p.m.  The Royals will close out the trip on Tuesday, December 20, against Westfield State (Mass.) at 6:00 p.m.

News & Notes:  Scranton holds an 8-3 lead in the all-time series with Cabrini…junior guard Travis Farrell (Middletown, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) finished with eight points and nine rebounds for the Royals…Scranton was 1-for-8 (12.5 percent) from the 3-point arc…Cabrini entered the game 12th in Division III in scoring at over 88 points per game…Royals were 5-for-11 from the free throw line in the second half.

Newspaper Box Score
CABRINI COLLEGE 71, SCRANTON 68

SCRANTON (4-4)
Tommy Morgan 8-14 1-3 17; Ross Danzig 4-10 7-7 15; Luke Hawk 4-8 4-9 12; Travis Farrell 4-8 0-0 8; Mark Bevacqua 2-3 0-1 4; Matt Swaback 1-4 2-2 4; Tim Lavelle 1-1 0-0 3; Nick Jaskula 1-1 1-1 3; Dan Hilferty 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 26-51 15-23 68.

CABRINI COLLEGE (8-0)
Lemons, Cory 7-12 2-2 16; Knowles, Jeremy 5-13 2-2 15; Rafferty, Fran 4-10 3-6 13; Boyd, John 4-14 3-5 11; Williams, AJ 4-7 0-2 9; Dulac, Goran 2-4 0-2 5; Rogers, Brima 1-3 0-0 2; Frizzera, Corey 0-0 0-0 0; Mayo, Sean 0-0 0-0 0; Miller, Jon 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 10-19 71.

Scranton......................   38   30  -   68
Cabrini College...............   33   38  -   71

3-point goals--Scranton 1-8 (Tim Lavelle 1-1; Ross Danzig 0-1; Travis Farrell 0-1; Matt Swaback 0-2; Tommy Morgan 0-3), Cabrini College 7-22 (Knowles, Jeremy 3-7; Rafferty, Fran 2-5; Williams, AJ 1-2; Dulac, Goran 1-1; Boyd, John 0-7). Fouled out--Scranton-None, Cabrini College-None. Rebounds--Scranton 40 (Travis Farrell 9), Cabrini College 39 (Rafferty, Fran 9). Assists--Scranton 7 (Matt Swaback 2; Luke Hawk 2; Travis Farrell 2), Cabrini College 12 (Lemons, Cory 6). Total fouls--Scranton 17, Cabrini College 22. Technical fouls--Scranton-None, Cabrini College-None.