The University of Scranton men's basketball team fell in a 13-point hole at halftime and couldn't complete a second-half comeback, falling to St. Joseph's-Long Island, 69-57, in an opening-round game in the PNC Bank Royal Rumble on Monday night in the Long Center.

The Royals suffered their third straight loss and fell to 6-3 on the season. They'll face Gwynedd-Mercy in the consolation game on Tuesday at 2 p.m. St. Joseph's advances to face Alvernia in the championship at 4 p.m.

Scranton struggled from the floor in the first half, shooting 30 percent (9-for-30) while falling behind, 38-25, at the break. The Golden Eagles (2-7) shot 46.4 percent (13-for-28) in the first half, including five of 11 from 3-point range.

Early in the second half, it looked like the Royals would recover as they used an 18-7 run to take a 49-48 lead on a layup by sophomore Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) with 8:10 to play. But St. Joseph's responded with its best stretch of the night, a 17-2 run that put the game away.

Boken led the Royals with 14 points and eight rebounds in the loss. Senior guard Tim Lavelle (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy, N.J.) added 13 points. The Royals finished the night shooting 36.7 percent (22-for-60), including 5-for-24 from 3-point range. Lavelle hit three of six from beyond the arc while the rest of the team was just two for 18.

St. Joseph's was led by sophomore guard Evan Mohammed (Bayside, N.Y./Holy Cross), who scored a game-high 21 points. Junior forward Keith Anderson (Central Islip, N.Y./North Babylon) had 19 points and 10 rebound and sophomore guard Sean McCarthy (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Golden Eagles shot 37.9 percent (22-for-58), including 9-for-23 from 3-point range. They forced 19 turnovers by the Royals while committing 16 of their own.

In the first opening-round game, Alvernia knocked off Gwynedd-Mercy, 83-59. 

--ROYALS--