GLENSIDE, Pa. – The University of Scranton men's basketball team could not overcome a poor second half on Tuesday night, suffering a 77-66 loss at Arcadia.

The Royals (6-2) held a 37-33 lead at halftime, but the combination of turnovers, foul trouble and poor shooting doomed them in the second half. They connected on just 11 of 29 field goal attempts in the second half, including 2-for-12 from 3-point range. Arcadia (4-4) also turned 12 second-half turnovers by the Royals into 15 points.

Junior guard Kevin Doolan (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) led the Royals with a season-high 20 points and also handed out four assists. Senior center John Vitkus (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) had 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, and junior guard Mitch Cross (Marriottsville, Md./Loyola-Blakefield) added 13 points, four rebounds and three assists off the bench.

Scranton hit seven first-half 3-pointers en route to that four-point lead at the break. Doolan made a trio of triples and Cross hit both of his tries. But Arcadia stayed close by hitting six from beyond the arc and also knocking home nine of 10 free throw attempts. For the game, the Knights were 19 of 22 from the line while Scranton was just 5-for-8.

The Royals finished the night at 44.1 percent (26-for-59) from the field, including 9-for-28 (32.1 percent) from 3-point range. Arcadia was 25-for-49 (51.0 percent) from the field, including 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) from 3-point range. The Knights also won the rebounding battle by the slimmest of margins, 31-30.

Scranton will be back in action when they travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico, this weekend. They Royals will take on Emory & Henry on Sunday at 3 p.m., and Montclair State on Monday at 4 p.m.

--ROYALS--