Royals Open Two-Game Landmark Road Trip With 90-76 Win Over Goucher Behind 29-Point Effort From Boken

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TOWSON, Md.—After dropping two league games at home, both in overtime and by a combined total of four points, The University of Scranton men's basketball team left little to chance against Goucher College in the first of a two-game Landmark Conference road trip Saturday evening.

The Royals bolted out to a 19-point halftime lead and never lifted their foot off the gas en route to a 90-76 victory at the Decker Sports and Recreation Center.

Sophomore forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) connected on 11 of 15 shots from the field to finish with 29 points and junior guards Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy-NJ) and Justin Klingman (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) added 20 and 17 points, respectively, to lead the way for Scranton, which has now won all 13 matchups in the series with Goucher.

And even though it was far from a must-win situation, the Royals, now 12-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference, needed a victory to keep pace, especially since they plays four of their next five on the road, with their only home game next Saturday against league-leader and defending champion Catholic University.

 The Royals regained their shooting touch today after struggling in their last two outings.  They connected on nearly 53 percent of their attempts, thanks to a game plan in which they consistently got the ball down low for high percentage shots.  For the game, Scranton finished with 38 points in the paint.

And while the Royals got their usual productivity from Boken, Danzig, and Klingman, it also received significant minutes from senior guard Mike Marchman (Blauvelt, NY/St. Joseph Regional) and steadily improving sophomore forward Marcus Thomas (Clarksburg, Md./Clarksburg) off the bench.  

Marchman played 15 minutes and handed out three assists while making only one turnover while Thomas had four rebounds, an assist, and a steals in 12 minutes of action.  In his last three outings, Thomas has played 60 minutes after playing a combined 24 minutes in his first seven games.

Senior guards Tommy Morgan (Greenlawn, NY/Chaminade) and Michael Barr (North Wales, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) also turned in solid efforts for the Royals today.  Morgan contributed on both ends of the court, finishing seven points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals, while Barr snapped out of a shooting slump, connecting on 3 of 5 shots—all from beyond the 3-point arc—to finish with nine points.  

Goucher, which shot just 36 percent from the field, was led by sophomore guard Kevin Miles (District Heights, Md./Gwynn Park), who came off the bench and scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds and freshman guard Norman Allen II (Bowie, Md./Riverdale Baptist) and sophomore forward Julian Livingston (Bowie, Md./Fairmont Heights) chipped in 14 and 13 points, respectively.  The loss dropped the Gophers to 7-8 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

Scranton returns to Landmark Conference action this Wednesday, January 22, against Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, at 7:00 p.m.