WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Senior center John Vitkus (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) posted his fourth straight double-double and The University of Scranton men's basketball team continued its dominance of the Cross-County Challenge with an 88-70 victory over Wilkes on Sunday afternoon in the Marts Center.

Vitkus finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds to take MVP honors while helping the Royals (5-0) remain unbeaten in the six-year history of the event. In the 12 victories in the Cross-County Challenge, Scranton's average margin of victory has been 10.3 points per game.

Junior forward Drew Schankweiler (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) finished with 14 points and six rebounds, junior guard Ethan Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights) had 14 points and five rebounds. And junior guard Kevin Doolan (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) added 10 points and three assists while earning all-tournament honors, and freshman guard Kyle DeVerna (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) had 10 points off the bench.

The Royals built a 46-29 halftime lead behind 10 points and eight rebounds from Vitkus, and 10 points from Schankweiler. They shot a torrid 61.3 percent (19-for-31) from the field and used a decided height advantage to pull down 23 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.

The second half was more of the same as Scranton finished the afternoon hitting on 64.7 percent (33-for-51) from the field, including seven of 13 (53.8 percent) from 3-point range. The Royals held a 35-25 rebounding edge and held Wilkes (4-2) to 46.6 percent (27-for-58) from the field.

Vitkus finished the afternoon 8-for-9 from the field, raising his field goal percentage to 77.1 percent for the season. Last year, he hit 66.3 percent from the field, which was second-best in all of NCAA Division III. On Saturday, Vitkus was 10-for-12 on his way to 23 points in a 79-70 win over King's.

The Royals will be back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 30, when they travel to Geneva, N.Y. to take on Hobart. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

--ROYALS--