NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The University of Scranton men's basketball team pulled away from Stevenson midway through the second half and showed no signs of rust after a 16-day lay-off while posting an 81-67 victory in the Captains Shootout at Christopher Newport University.
Senior forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) continued his strong play this season, leading the Royals (7-2) with 25 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Junior forward John Vitkus (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) had a career-high 18 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and three assists, and sophomore guard Kevin Doolan (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) added 15 points in the win.
Boken's big game marked his third straight double-double and fourth of the season. It was also his fourth game this season of 25 or more points, and the five assists were a season high. Vitkus's double-double was his second of the season, and it was his fourth double-digit scoring effort of the season.
Scranton finished the first half on a 13-5 run to take a 39-38 lead into the break. Senior guard Brian Farrell (Verona, N.J./Verona) had a pair of layups to spark the run, Vitkus had a dunk and sophomore guard Ethan Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights) canned a 3-pointer to end the half for the one-point lead.
The Royals carried that momentum into the second half, going on an early 9-2 run to seize control when Boken made a layup with 16:02 left for a 48-42 lead. Stevenson (3-8) cut the deficit in half with a 3-pointer a moment later, but the Royals responded with a 16-4 run for a 64-49 lead with 8:36 left.
The lead grew to 20 on a dunk by sophomore forward Drew Schankweiler (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) with 4:38 left, and Stevenson got no closer than 12 the rest of the way.
The 81 points were the second-most for Scranton this season. The Royals shot 56 percent (28-for-50) from the field, just off the 56.1 percent they shot in a season-opening win over Bryn Athyn on Nov. 13.
Scranton forced 20 turnovers in the win, the second straight game the Royals have forced 20 miscues. That helped them overcome a 34-27 deficit on the boards, although the Royals had a commanding 19-11 rebounding edge in the second half when they took control.
Scranton will play in the title tilt on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. against the winner of Tuesday night's other opening-round game between Shenandoah and Christopher Newport, which was set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
--ROYALS--