Four players netted double-figure points on Saturday night to lead The University of Scranton to an 82-67 victory over Hartwick in the opening round of the Hilton Scranton Invitational at the John Long Center.    

The Royals (2-0) will meet St. Lawrence in Sunday's championship game starting at 4 p.m. while the Hawks (1-2) will play Ursinus at 2 p.m. in the consolation game.  St. Lawrence defeated Ursinus in Saturday's opening game, 92-83.

Junior Kyle DeVerna (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) scored a game-high 18 points and collected three steals to lead Scranton while freshman Jack Brockett (Shamong, N.J./Seneca) tallied 15 points. 

Sophomore Logan Bailey (Scranton, Pa./Scranton Prep) added 14 points while junior Matthew Mancuso (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) chipped in with 13 points while tying for a game-high with seven rebounds in the win.

With Hartwick leading 16-14 eight and a half minutes into the opening half on Saturday, Scranton used a 12-0 surge to claim a 26-16 advantage with 8:17 remaining in the period. 

The Hawks trimmed the lead to four points at 30-26 at the 5:46 mark, but the Royals outscored the visitors 15-4 the rest of the frame to take a 45-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Hartwick trimmed its lead down to nine points seven minutes into the second half, but that was as close as the Hawks would come as Scranton opened up a commanding, 72-47 advantage with 6:53 remaining and cruised the rest of the way.

The Royals enjoyed a strong night from the floor, connecting on 50 percent of their field goal attempts including a 33.3 percent effort from beyond the arc.  The hosts also knocked down 75 percent of their free throw shots in the contest.

Freshman Jackson Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights) dished out a game-high six assists for Scranton, which forced Hartwick into 25 turnovers while limiting the Hawks to a 36.7 percent showing from the field.

--ROYALS--