The matchup of top 25 teams in the Long Center on Tuesday night lived up to its billing and then some as the 12th-ranked University of Scranton men's basketball team overcame late deficits in regulation and overtime to beat No. 21 Cabrini, 74-73.
The Royals were led by sophomore guard Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy, N.J.), who scored a career-high 29 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Senior guard Travis Farrell (Middletown, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) added 14 points, including the 1,000th of his career, and freshman forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Scranton, which jumped six spots in the D3hoops.com top 25 earlier in the day, improved to 4-0 with the win. Cabrini, which opened the season ranked 10th, fell to 3-2.
Scranton found itself trailing 64-59 with 2:49 to play in regulation after leading for much of the game. But the Royals responded with a 5-0 run on a 3-pointer by Farrell and two free throws from Danzig that tied the game with 1:36 to play.
Cabrini then took the lead with 20 seconds left on a pair of free throws from freshman forward Arron Goodman (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North), who finished with a team-high 26 for the Cavaliers. But Scranton answered when Farrell found Boken underneath for a layup with six seconds left. Cabrini's 3-pointer to win it at the buzzer rattled around the rim and popped out.
The teams traded buckets in the first two minutes of overtime before Cabrini took a 73-72 lead with 1:03 to play on a pair of free throws by junior forward Fran Rafferty (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion). The Royals missed on their ensuing possession, but Farrell caused a tie-up, giving the Royals possession on the jump ball with 31 seconds remaining and the shot clock off.
Scranton worked the clock down to 14 seconds before calling a timeout, and they came out of the huddle and put the ball in Danzig's hands. He went straight to the bucket and scored on a layup in traffic to give Scranton a 74-73 lead with 5.3 seconds to play. The Cavaliers called timeout, then got a good look from 15 feet with a couple seconds remaining, but the shot was off line and Danzig corralled the rebound as the horn sounded.
It was a tight game for most of the evening despite the Royals scoring the game's first 12 points. The Cavaliers answered with a 15-2 run to take a brief lead and Scranton eventually settled for a 34-31 halftime lead despite the hot start.
The Royals also received nine points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals from junior guard Michael Barr (North Wales, Pa./Lansdale Catholic). Scranton shot 42.6 percent (26-for-61) for the game while holding Cabrini to just 36.1 percent (26-for-72), including eight of 34 from 3-point range.
Farrell reached the 1,000-point milestone when he made a layup at the 16:19 mark of the second half. He now has 1,005 career points, ranking him 39th on Scranton's all-time scoring list.
Cabrini, which had five players score in double figures, held a 50-41 advantage on the glass and both teams committed 16 turnovers. Despite an overall height disadvantage, Scranton held a 38-28 edge in points in the paint.
The Royals are back in action on Saturday, Dec. 1, when they open Landmark Conference play against Susquehanna University at 4 p.m. in the Long Center. Prior to the game, the University will hold its annual Wall of Fame induction ceremony, which will begin promptly after the women's game, which begins at 2 p.m.
--ROYALS--