ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – The University of Scranton men's basketball team put forth its best defensive effort of the year while posting the team's third straight victory, a 66-45 victory over Elizabethtown on Saturday afternoon at Thompson Gymnasium.
The victory moves the Royals (14-5, 7-4 Landmark) into a three-way tie for third in the Landmark Conference, even with Juniata (14-6, 7-4) and Drew (10-10, 7-4). Susquehanna (16-2, 7-2) leads the conference with Catholic (14-5, 7-3) in second place.
The 45 points allowed was the lowest total of the season for Scranton, which previously allowed just 50 against Wilkes on Nov. 29 and in the first match up with Elizabethtown on Jan. 2 in the Long Center. On Saturday, the Royals held Elizabethtown (3-15, 1-9) to 35.6 percent (16-for-45) from the field while forcing the Blue Jays into 22 turnovers, the most by an opponent this season. The 21 points Scranton allowed in the first half also matched the lowest total for a half by an opponent this season.
Senior forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) led Scranton with his 11th double-double of the season. He finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, two blocks and an assist in 26 minutes. Junior forward John Vitkus (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) had his second straight double-double and fifth of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore guard Ethan Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights) added 11 points, four rebounds, a career-high three blocks, three assists and two steals.
Scranton also received a career-high 10 points in 22 minutes off the bench from sophomore forward Drew Schankweiler (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg). He finished 5-for-6 from the field while adding five rebounds and two assists. Sophomore guard Kevin Doolan (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) also set a career high with five of the Royals' 15 steals.
The Royals, who never trailed after knotting the score at 11 with 13:17 left in the first half, finished the game 26-for-60 (43.3 percent) from the field and made 10 of 13 (76.9 percent) from the free throw line. They won the rebounding battle, 41-23, and turned the Elizabethtown's 22 turnovers into 22 points. They also doubled up the Blue Jays in points in the paint, 44-22.
Scranton used two big runs to put this one out of reach. The first one came late in the first half when the Royals went on a 13-2 run to turn a 17-14 lead into a 30-16 cushion with 2:44 left in the first half. The second was a 17-2 run in the second half that turned a 49-39 edge into a 66-41 lead with 1:36 remaining.
The Royals will return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 3, when they host Moravian in a Landmark Conference game at 7 p.m. in the Long Center.
--ROYALS--