MADISON, N.J. - Senior Kyle DeVerna (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) became the 45th student-athlete in program history to score 1,000 career points, highlighting a second half surge by The University of Scranton men's basketball team at Drew on Wednesday night in a big 69-59 win on the road in Landmark Conference action.
With the victory (and a 65-60 loss by Susquehanna to Moravian), the Royals took sole possession of first place in the Landmark Conference standings at 6-1 and 14-4 overall. Drew fell to 5-2 in the Landmark and 14-4 overall with the defeat.
In the opening frame, it was a close, defensive battle throughout, with things coming to a head with three minutes left and the game tied up at 23-all. Here, Drew went on the first sustained run of the game to that point, as a 7-2 spurt put the Rangers up, 30-25, with 1:15 left.
The squads traded baskets to end the half, as it was Drew taking a 32-28 lead on Scranton entering intermission. Out of the break, however, Scranton began to take control of the contest.
Out of the half, the Royals went on an 8-0 run to open up a 36-32 lead with 14:19 left in regulation. This run of opportunistic offense and strong defense by Scranton proved to be key, as once the Royals took the lead in the second half, they never relinquished it the rest of the way.
Up by three with 11:22 left (39-36), the Royals scored six straight points to take their biggest lead of the game at 45-36 with 9:31 left, capped by a made three by freshman Stephen Braunstein (Colts Neck. N.J./Christian Brothers Academy).
The closest Drew came to the Scranton lead the rest of the night was five points (49-44 with 6:46 left), as the Royals put away the Rangers down the stretch, eventually taking an insurmountable 62-49 lead with 2:45 left. From there, the Royals salted the game away at the free throw line to take a double-digit road conference win.
Overall, Scranton was led in the victory by senior forward Matthew Mancuso (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), who scored 19 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to record his ninth double-double of the season. Mancuso, who has scored in double-figures in every Scranton game but one, had three blocks and made nine free throws (on 11 attempts) in the win, as well.
Elsewhere, junior Logan Bailey (Scranton, Pa./Scranton Prep) had 15 points, six rebounds, and two assists, while sophomore Jack Brockett (Shamong, N.J./Seneca) came off the bench and scored 12 points (on four made three's) while pulling down five rebounds.
DeVerna, meanwhile, made history in the game, scoring five points to push his career point total to 1,002. He joined fellow senior Mancuso in joining the 1,000-point scorer club in the first half, hitting the milestone on a made three-pointer late in the first half.
In the second half of the contest, Scranton took control, as they outscored Drew by a wide 42-27 margin to pull away. The Royals also crashed the board strong in the win, outrebounding the Rangers by a wide, 45-30, margin.
The University of Scranton men's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, traveling to Elizabethtown for another Landmark Conference road contest. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
--ROYALS--