WASHINGTON, DC—The University of Scranton men's basketball team did not have an answer for Catholic University senior forward Chris Kearney (Centreville, Va./Westfield) in Landmark Conference action Saturday evening at the DuFour Center.

Kearney dominated down low, finishing with 32 points and 12 rebounds as the Cardinals ended a 9-game series losing streak to the Royals with a 58-48 victory.  

Catholic, now 15-2 overall and a league-leading 5-1 in the Landmark Conference, also received 14 points and eight rebounds from sophomore Steve Limberiou (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) and 13 rebounds and eight assists from senior Nate Koenig (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase).

Sophomore guard Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy-NJ) led Scranton, now 12-5 overall and 4-3 in the conference, with 15 points and eight rebounds and freshman forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) contributed 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Royals struggled after opening up a 7-point halftime lead, making just 5 of 29 field goal attempts (17.2 percent), including only 1 of 15 (6.7 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc, in the final 20 minutes of play.

For a majority of the first half, however, it appeared as if Scranton might continue its mastery of the Cardinals.  The Royals managed to build up three 11-point margins, the last of which came with 2:42 remaining on a jump shot by Danzig.  Catholic then picked up some momentum when Koenig converted a lay-up and freshman Bryson Fonville (Greensboro, NC/Walter Hines Page) followed with a jump shot to shave the lead to 33-26 at the break.

Catholic continued to whittle away early in the second half, as Kearney scored four points and Limberiou canned a 3-pointer during a 13-3 spurt that gave the Cardinals a 39-36 lead with 15:02 left.  The Royals did manage to tie it up on its next possession—on a 3-pointer by Danzig—and stayed within striking distance until Catholic opened up a 10-point cushion with 3:16 left.

The Cardinals, who posted their first win over Scranton since January 17, 2009, held a 46-33 advantage in rebounding and a 34-24 margin in points in the paints.  

The Royals will return to Landmark Conference action this Wednesday, January 23, against Moravian College beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Long Center.