SCRANTON - Sophomore Jackson Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights) poured in a career-high 25 points, leading The University of Scranton men's basketball team to a tough 85-79 win over King's (Pa.) on Saturday in the John Long Center.
With the win, the Royals improved to 9-2 overall, winning their fifth straight game overall in the process. King's dropped to 6-4 with the defeat.
To kick the game off, Scranton came out hot, opening a 20-6 lead on the Monarchs after freshman Stephen Braunstein (Colts Neck, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) nailed a three with 13:17 left in the first half. This lead proved to be crucial for the Royals moving forward the rest of the game, as King's was never able to get the lead back from Scranton the rest of the contest.
The rest of the first half, the closest King's came to the Royals' lead was seven points, which ironically was Scranton's lead entering halftime at 39-32 over the Monarchs.
The second half saw King's time and again make runs at the Scranton lead, only for the Royals to extinguish the threat at their lead each time by making key shots.
Out of the break, King's quickly cut the Royals' lead to four (40-36), only to see Danzig nail a three to put Scranton back up seven (43-36). The three by Danzig ignited a big run for the Royals, as an eventual 14-5 spurt put Scranton back up, 54-41, with 15:38 to go.
But, once again, King's made a run at the lead, as a quick 9-0 run slashed the Scranton lead back down to four (54-50) with 13:20 left. And, once again, the Royals went on a run to go back up double-figures, as an 8-1 spurt put the Royals up, 62-51, with 10 minutes left.
After keeping King's at bay for over four minutes, the Monarchs made what turned out to be their final push at the lead entering the five-minute mark, as a 9-0 King's run cut the Scranton lead all the way down to two points (70-68) with 5:16 to go in the game.
After the teams traded baskets down the floor, Scranton still held a slim two-point lead with four minutes to go (74-72). Here, Danzig made his biggest shot of the game, nailing a key three to put the Royals up five at 77-72 with 3:54 left. King's, however, came right back down the floor and made a jumper to make it a one-possession game again at 77-74 with three minutes left.
On their next trip down the floor, senior Kyle DeVerna (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) made a huge three, as his triple put the Royals up six (80-74) with 2:57 left. The DeVerna three was the spark Scranton needed to finish off the game, as, after a stop on defense, Danzig nailed a jumper to put the Royals up for good at 82-74 with 1:33 to go in regulation.
From there, the closest King's came to the Scranton lead was four points (83-79 with 28 seconds left), as the Royals salted the game away at the free throw line late to take a thrilling six-point win at home.
Overall, Danzig bested his previous career-high of 21 points (set at Elizabethtown on Jan. 5, 2019) with his 25-point performance. Overall, Danzig was on fire all night from the floor, shooting 9-of-12 overall and 5-of-7 from outside the arc.
Elsewhere, DeVerna finished with 16 points and three assists, while senior Matthew Mancuso (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) and sophomore Ben Bosland (Colts Neck, N.J. /Colts Neck) scored 10 points apiece. Mancuso pulled down eight rebounds and collected three blocks and two steals, while Bosland dished out a career-best nine assists in the victory.
Overall, it was a strong shooting afternoon from the floor for Scranton, as they finished at 53.6 percent on the day (30-of-56). They also outrebounded King's by a slim 30-28 margin, as well.
King's was led in the tough defeat by JJ Glinsky, who came off the bench to score 21 points.
The University of Scranton men's basketball team returns to action on Wednesday night, as they travel to Arcadia for their final non-conference game of the regular season. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
--ROYALS--