DELAWARE, Ohio – The NCAA Tournament is filled with talented teams, and on Friday night in the first round, The University of Scranton men's basketball team found that out the hard way.
The Royals watched an early lead evaporate in a heartbeat in what turned out to be an 82-55 loss to Lynchburg in Branch Rickey Arena at Ohio Wesleyan University. The loss ends Scranton's season at 19-8.
In the defeat, senior forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) scored a team-high 13 points, giving him 1,911 career points, a new school record. He surpassed the previous mark of 1,903, set by Gene Mumford (1968-71). The record-setting basket came on a spin move in the paint with 6:03 left in the first half.
The unfortunate thing about that bucket by Boken was that it ended a game-changing 22-0 run by Lynchburg (23-6). Scranton had opened the game with active defense and strong rebounding to build a 10-3 lead. But the Hornets responded with that decisive run and never looked back the rest of the evening, making 13 3-pointers in the win.
Sophomore forward Drew Schankweiler (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) added nine points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore guard Mitch Cross (Marriottsville, Md./Loyola-Blakefield) added seven points. Boken also added nine rebounds.
The Royals finished the night shooting 28.6 percent (18-for-63) from the field, including just 2-for-24 from 3-point range. They made 17 of 30 free throws and held a 45-43 edge in rebounding.
Lynchburg hit 29 of 61 from the field (47.5 percent), including 13-for-25 (52 percent) from 3-point range. The Hornets made 11 of 18 free throws and committed 16 turnovers while forcing 19 by the Royals.
Scranton was making its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 27th in school history.
--ROYALS--