The University of Scranton men's basketball team overcame a sluggish start to build a double-digit lead in the second half en route to a 71-62 victory over Ursinus in the championship game of the Hilton Scranton Invitational on Saturday afternoon in the Long Center.
The Royals (2-0) were led by sophomore guard Kevin Doolan (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge), who had 19 points and seven assists, and senior forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola), who had 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Boken was named tournament most valuable player and Doolan was named to the all-tournament team.
Sophomore guard Ethan Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights) added 11 points and four rebounds, and senior guard Marcus Thomas (Clarksburg, Md./Clarksburg) had his typical solid all-around game with nine points, seven assists and four rebounds.
Scranton shot just 36.7 percent (11-for-30) in the first half after shooting over 50 percent in both halves of Friday night's opening-round win over Bryn Athyn. The Royals trailed for a chunk of the first half, but Danzig and Doolan finished the half with consecutive 3-pointers to give Scranton a 29-26 lead at the break.
Ursinus (1-1) knotted the score at 29 early in the second half, but the Royals went on a 24-4 run to take a 53-33 lead with 8:13 to play. Doolan had eight points and Boken and senior guard Brian Farrell (Verona, N.J./Verona) had four points each during the run.
The Bears cut the lead to single digits with three minutes left and got within six with 22 seconds to play, but could get no closer. Freshman guard Eric Williams (Plainfield, N.J./The Hun School) had 17 of his game-high 25 points in the final eight minutes for Ursinus. He was named to the all-tournament team.
Scranton finished the game shooting 39.7 percent (25-for-63) from the field, including 13-for-35 (37.1 percent) from 3-point range. The Royals turned the ball over just four times while forcing Ursinus into 16 turnovers, which they turned into 19 points.
The Royals will be back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 17, when they host Ithaca in a non-conference game at 7 p.m. in the Long Center.
In the third-place game, Stevens Tech defeated Bryn Athyn, 92-73. All-tournament selection Patrick Barron finished with 30 points for Stevens Tech, and set a Long Center record for 3-pointers made in a single game with nine. Troy Steed earned all-tournament honors for Bryn Athyn after scoring 14 points and pulling down eight rebounds.
--ROYALS--