KINGS POINT, N.Y. – Facing a 11-point deficit late in the first half on the road, The University of Scranton men's basketball team responded with one of its best stretches of basketball this season to extend its winning streak to seven.

The Royals scored the final five points of the first half, then played an impressive second half to rally past Merchant Marine Academy, 75-63, on Wednesday night at O'Hara Hall.

Sophomore forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) led the Royals with 23 points and junior guard Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy, N.J.) added 22 as Scranton improved to 17-3 and 7-2 in Landmark Conference play. The Royals remain tied for first place with Catholic, which rallied to beat Juniata in double overtime.

Merchant Marine Academy (9-10, 4-6 Landmark) took a pair of 10-point first-half leads before pushing the advantage to 11 at 38-27 with 2:20 to play before the break. But the Royals closed the half on an 8-2 run – sparked by a pair of Danzig 3-pointers – to get within 40-35.

Scranton then used a 7-0 run early in the second half to take a 48-45 lead, the Royals' biggest lead since it was 2-0 in the opening minute. The Mariners rallied to take a two-point lead 90 seconds later, but Scranton scored the next six points to take the lead for good at 54-50 with 11:52 to play.

The lead fluctuated between two and four until the Royals went on yet another run, this time an 11-2 surge that put the game away in the closing minutes. Senior guard Tommy Morgan (Greenlawn, N.Y./Chaminade) had seven points during the run, including 5-for-6 from the free throw line, as Scranton took a 71-60 lead with 61 seconds to play.

The Royals outscored Merchant Marine Academy in the second half, 40-23, by going 12-for-21 (57.1 percent) from the field, making 14 of 21 (66.7 percent) from the free throw line and committing just six turnovers. On the defensive end, they held the Mariners to 28.6 percent (8-for-28) from the field. Merchant Marine Academy didn't help its cause by going 5-for-16 from the free throw line in the second half.

Boken finished with 13 points in the second half and Morgan scored all seven of his second-half points in that decisive run in the final five minutes.

Scranton also received 11 points from senior guard Michael Barr (North Wales, Pa./Lansdale Catholic), while Boken had seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals to go along with his game-high 23 points.

The Royals finished the game 25-for-46 (54.3 percent) from the field, including 6-for-14 from 3-point range, including 4-for-7 from Danzig. The Royals committed just 14 turnovers and finished 19-for-30 (63.3 percent) from the free throw line.

Merchant Marine Academy was led by sophomore guard David Smith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep), who scored 19 points. The Mariners finished the game 24-for-65 (36.9 percent) from the field, including 7-for-21 from 3-point range. They won the rebounding battle, 43-33, but committed 15 turnovers and went 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) from the free throw line.

Scranton will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 8, when the Royals host Landmark Conference foe Susquehanna University at 2 p.m. in the Long Center. 

--ROYALS--