WASHINGTON, D.C. – The University of Scranton men's basketball team returned to its typical stingy ways to shut down Catholic University for a key road victory, 79-62, at the DuFour Center on Friday evening.

Scranton (13-6, 6-2 Landmark Conference) snapped a two-game losing streak by holding the Cardinals to just 33.9 percent shooting (21-for-62) from the field. The victory keeps the Royals tied for first place in the Landmark Conference with Juniata.

All five starters scored in double figures for the Royals, led by sophomore guard Tommy Morgan (Greenlawn, N.Y./Chaminade), who scored 17 points, six rebounds and six assists. It was Morgan's second straight strong performance against Catholic – he scored 20 in an 80-76, double overtime win on Saturday, Jan. 7, in the Long Center.

Freshman guard Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy, N.J.) added 16 points in the win, senior forward Luke Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, senior forward Matt Swaback (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) had 14 points and junior guard Travis Farrell (Middletown, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) added 10 points and five assists.

Scranton held Catholic to just 9-for-34 (26.5 percent) shooting in the first half to jump out to a 34-24 lead after 20 minutes. The Royals then used hot shooting of their own to put the game away. They connected on 16 of 27 from the field, including six of 12 from 3-point range, in the second half.

Catholic cut the lead to four with 13:08 to play in the game, but the Royals responded with a 12-3 run, including five points from Danzig, to stretch the lead to double digits for good.

The defensive performance was similar to the type of play that led Scranton on an eight-game winning streak and a 6-0 start to Landmark Conference play. The Royals allowed just 57.9 points and held opponents to 38.7 percent shooting during that winning streak. The run was derailed last weekend when Susquehanna and Juniata both shot better than 50 percent as the Royals lost twice on the road.

But Scranton's strong defense returned against Catholic, a team the Royals needed double overtime to dispatch 80-76 on Saturday, Jan. 7, in the Long Center. The Cardinals entered Friday evening's game as the Landmark Conference's top 3-point shooting team at 39.8 percent, but Scranton held them to just 2 of 15 from 3-point range, including 0-for-7 in the second half.

In their two victories over Catholic this season, Scranton has held the Cardinals to 6-for-28 (21.4 percent) from 3-point range.

The Royals turned the ball over just 11 times, their lowest total since committing just seven turnovers in a 93-59 victory over New Paltz on Saturday, Nov. 19, in the Long Center. The win was Scranton's ninth straight over the Cardinals, who fell to 15-4 overall and 5-3 in the Landmark Conference.

Catholic was led by senior forward Darrell Carroll (Perth Amboy, N.J./St. Joseph), who scored 16 points. Freshman guard Steve Limberiou (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) added 10 points in the loss.

Scranton returns to action Saturday when it travels to Towson, Md. to face Goucher College at 7:30 p.m.