TOWSON, Md.—The University of Scranton men's basketball team has gotten its mojo back.
It started Friday evening when the Royals manhandled Catholic University, 79-62, and continued this evening with a hard-fought 58-49 victory over Goucher College at the Decker Sports & Recreation Center.
Freshman guard Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy-NJ) scored 13 of his game-high 19 points in the second half and finished with 11 rebounds as Scranton improved to 14-6 overall and took over sole possession of first place in the conference with a 7-2 record.
The Royals, which overcame an early 7-point second-half deficit, also received 12 points, including two crucial 3-pointers late in the contest, from senior forward Matt Swaback (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) and 10 from junior guard Travis Farrell (Middletown, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy).
Goucher, which lost its eighth straight game to fall to 3-16 overall and 0-9 in the Landmark Conference, was led by senior forward Marcus Cotton (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) with 18 points and freshman guard Damon Brooks (Takoma Park, Md./Springbrook) added 11.
The wear and tear of playing games on back-to-back nights affected both teams.
The Royals never looked comfortable against Goucher's 2-3 and 1-3-1 zone, shooting a season-low 33.9 percent from the field, including 30.8 percent in the final 20 minutes of play. Scranton did, however, force 18 turnovers and turned those Gopher miscues into 22 points.
Goucher also struggled from the field, making less than 31 percent of their field goal attempts in the second half after building up a 31-28 halftime lead.
Swaback provided the spark the Royals needed down the stretch, connecting on a 3-pointer with 4:27 left to give Scranton a 51-47 lead and another one with 2:11 left that extended the lead to eight points. The Gophers scored only one more basket the rest of the way, a lay-up by Cotton with 1:56 remaining.
Scranton started the day tied for first place in the conference with Susquehanna University and Juniata College, but took over the top spot after the Merchant Marine Academy defeated Juniata, 75-70, and Drew topped Susquehanna, 67-56.
The Royals will host Juniata and Susquehanna in their final home stand of the season next Friday and Saturday, February 3-4, respectively. Friday's game against Juniata will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday's game against Susquehanna at 4:00 p.m.
News & Notes: The Royals have won all 10 meetings in the series against Goucher College…Royals offset a poor shooting effort by making 9 of 24 3-point field goal attempts and 9 of 12 free throws…Scranton will play three of its final five conference games on the road...senior guard Luke Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) finished with five points, eight rebounds, and two assists for Scranton.
Newspaper Box Score
SCRANTON 58, GOUCHER 49
SCRANTON (14-6/7-2 Landmark)
Ross Danzig 6-14 4-6 19; Matt Swaback 3-6 3-4 12; Travis Farrell 4-12 1-1 10; Tommy Morgan 3-10 0-0 7; Tim Lavelle 2-4 0-0 5; Luke Hawk 2-7 1-1 5; Michael Barr 0-0 0-0 0; Dan Hilferty 0-2 0-0 0; Edmond O'Connell 0-2 0-0 0; Nick Jaskula 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-59 9-12 58.
GOUCHER (3-16/0-9 Landmark)
Marcus Cotton 6-14 1-1 14; Damon Brooks 5-11 1-2 11; Trae Lindsay 3-9 2-4 8; Shane Yambor 3-4 0-0 7; Manney Wood 1-7 3-4 5; Richard Harris 1-5 0-0 2; Leroy Williams 0-1 2-2 2; Brian Morton II 0-0 0-0 0; Dylan Chaney 0-0 0-0 0; Alex Noble 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 9-13 49.
Scranton...................... 28 30 - 58
Goucher....................... 31 18 - 49
3-point goals--Scranton 9-24 (Ross Danzig 3-8; Matt Swaback 3-5; Tim Lavelle 1-3; Tommy Morgan 1-3; Travis Farrell 1-5), Goucher 2-5 (Marcus Cotton 1-3; Shane Yambor 1-1; Alex Noble 0-1). Fouled out--Scranton-Luke Hawk, Goucher-None. Rebounds--Scranton 38 (Ross Danzig 11), Goucher 38 (Shane Yambor 10). Assists--Scranton 8 (Tommy Morgan 2; Luke Hawk 2), Goucher 8 (Trae Lindsay 3). Total fouls--Scranton 14, Goucher 14. Technical fouls--Scranton-None, Goucher-None. A-301