ITHACA, N.Y. – The University of Scranton men's basketball team made numerous key plays on the defensive end in the second half to overcome a 13-point second-half deficit and defeat Ithaca College, 54-51, in a non-conference game on Tuesday night in Ben Light Gymnasium.

The Royals (15-5) forced 11 second-half turnovers by Ithaca (13-5) en route to their third straight victory. Scranton connected on 13 of 21 second-half shots (61.9 percent) while holding the Bombers to just 32 percent (8-for-25) after the break.

Freshman forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) scored 10 of his 11 points in the second half and junior guard Tommy Morgan (Greenlawn, N.Y./Chaminade) had 11 points, including a second-half dunk, and eight assists to lead the Royals.

Scranton trailed by 11 at halftime, 33-22, after being outrebounded 22-11 in the opening 20 minutes. Ithaca also made 10 of 16 free throws in the first half while Scranton was just 1-for-3 from the line.

But after Ithaca scored to open the second half, Scranton scored six straight to get within seven. The deficit hovered between six and 10 until midway through the second half when the Royals used an 11-2 run to take a 49-47 lead with 4:14 to play. They forced four turnovers and held the Bombers to 1-for-8 from the field during that six-minute stretch.

Ithaca scored twice sandwiched around a Boken jumper over the next 35 seconds to leave the score knotted at 51 with 3:29 to play. Neither team was able to score over the next two minutes until Scranton senior guard Travis Farrell (Middletown, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) made a steal on the defensive end and drilled a 3-pointer moments later to give the Royals a 54-51 lead with 1:24 to play.

Scranton couldn't seal the game at the free throw line, missing three attempts in the final minute. But the Royals did what they needed to do defensively, forcing a turnover and rebounding a pair of Ithaca misses in the final 47 seconds.

Boken added seven rebounds and two steals, Farrell finished with eight points, seven rebounds, two steals and two assists, and sophomore guard Justin Klingman (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) gave Scranton a boost in 24 minutes off the bench, contributing eight points, two assists, a rebound and a steal.

The Royals shot 48.9 percent (22-for-45) from the field, but connected on just five of 15 attempts from the free throw line. They were 5-for-12 (41.7 percent) from 3-point range and committed 15 turnovers.

Scranton now leads the all-time series against Ithaca, 7-2. This was the first game between the schools since Feb. 27, 1948.

Ithaca was led by junior forward Frank Mitchell (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough), who had a game-high 21 points. The Bombers shot 37.3 percent (19-for-51) from the field, including 2-for-10 from 3-point range. They finished 11 of 19 from the free throw line after going 1-for-3 in the second half, and committed 17 turnovers for the game. 

Scranton returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 2, when it travels to Selinsgrove, Pa. to take on Landmark Conference foe Susquehanna University at 4 p.m.

--ROYALS--