HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The University of Scranton men's basketball team found itself on the wrong end of another hot shooting night and dropped its second straight on the road, 82-55, against Juniata in Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
The loss drops the Royals to 12-6 overall and 5-2 in the Landmark Conference, part of a four-way tie for first place with Juniata, Catholic and Susquehanna. Scranton is now 0-5 on the road this season.
Junior guard Travis Farrell (Middletown, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) led Scranton with 14 points, including 3-for-4 shooting from 3-point range. Freshman guard Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy, N.J.) added 11 points and sophomore guard Michael Barr (North Wales, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) had 10 in the loss.
Senior forward Luke Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) also had eight points, including the 1,000th of his career on a layup with 2:50 remaining in the game.
Juniata stormed to a 43-28 halftime lead by shooting 57.1 percent (16-for-28) from the field in the opening half. The Eagles (13-5 overall, 5-2 Landmark) were nearly as good in the second half, connecting on 11 of 21 (52.4 percent) from the field. For the game, Juniata shot 55.1 percent (27-for-49). The hot shooting of the Eagles came less than 24 hours after Susquehanna shot 54.8 percent (23-for-42) in a 77-63 win over the Royals.
Juniata also capitalized on Scranton's miscues by turning 17 Royals turnovers into 23 points.
The loss was the second straight for the Royals against Juniata and dropped them to 33-11 all-time against the Eagles. Scranton is 5-4 against Juniata since the teams joined the Landmark Conference four years ago.
The Eagles were led by sophomore forward Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College), who scored 18 points, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Senior guard Dan Sekulski (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone Area) added 15 points, junior guard Alex Raymond (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Altoona) had 13 and sophomore guard Alex Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) had 10.
Scranton returns to action Friday, Jan. 27, when it travels to Washington, D.C. to face Catholic University at 7:30 p.m.
--ROYALS--