Mar 06, 2015
BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Brandon Boken (South Pasadena, Calif.) paced four players in double figures with a game-high 19 points as 21st-ranked University of Scranton defeated Baruch College, 72-62, in an NCAA Tournament First Round game on Friday night at Staake Gymnasium.
With the victory, Scranton moves to 23-5 and advances to Saturday's second-round contest against either Babson or Westfield State, while Baruch sees its season come to a close at 21-7.
Boken added a game-high nine rebounds and four assists for the Royals. First-year Kevin Doolan (Basking Ridge, N.J.) went 4-of-6 from three-point range and finished with 16 points, while senior Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa.) contributed 13 points, a game-high six assists and five rebounds. Classmate Justin Klingman (Clarks Summit, Pa.) added 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
Junior Ryan Markoe (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the Bearcats with 12 points. Senior Granville Gittens (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while classmate Brian McMahon (Washington Heights, N.Y.) added 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Doolan scored 10 points over the first 7:48, including a pair of three-pointers to give Scranton a 14-8 lead at the second media timeout. Baruch countered with an 8-2 run, getting six points at the free throw line to pull within 18-16 following three straight foul shots from Markoe with 7:28 to play in the opening half.
The Royals answered though, as they ripped off a 13-0 run to take command of the game. Sophomore John Vitkus (Mahopac, N.Y.) scored back-to-back hoops, and Klingman and Danzig combined to drain three consecutive treys to make it 31-16 with 2:39 to play in the stanza. Boken, who scored eight first-half points, added a layup with 52 seconds left to give Scranton a 37-22 lead at the break.
The Bearcats trailed by as many as 19 points with 18:36 to go in the game before outscoring Scranton 27-13 over the next 10 minutes to get as close as five. Granville and Markoe each scored seven points during the stretch, and back-to-back hoops by juniors Raymond De La Cruz (Bronx, N.Y.) and Edward Roscigno (Astoria, N.Y.) cut the Baruch deficit to 54-49 with 8:49 remaining.
The Royals answered back by scoring seven of the next nine points though, as Ross Danzig and his brother, first-year Ethan Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa.), each hit three-pointers to push the lead back to 62-51 at the 4:59 mark. Bearcats' first-year Chimaechi Ekekeugbor (Matawan, N.J.) buried a three-pointer to pull Baruch back within 64-58 with 3:03 to go, but his triple on the next possession rimmed out and Ross Danzig converted a three-point play on the other end to put Scranton back up nine with 1:39 left.
The Royals, who are making their 26th NCAA Tournament appearance, move onto the second round for the first time since 2012 after losing to Hobart in the opening round last season.
Baruch, which was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009, fall to 0-4 all-time in first-round games.