SCRANTON - On an afternoon in which The University of Scranton men's basketball program honored its 2019-20 senior class, it was junior Logan Bailey (Scranton, Pa./Scranton Prep) who led all scorers with 21 points, as the Royals pulled away in the second half to take an 81-63 win over Goucher on Saturday in the John Long Center.
With the win, Scranton ends the regular season with an 18-7 overall mark and a 10-4 ledger in the Landmark Conference. The Royals will be the number three seed in the upcoming Landmark Conference playoffs, which begin Wednesday night. Then, Scranton will take on second-seeded Drew in Madison, N.J. at 7 p.m.
Goucher ends their 2019-20 season 6-19 overall mark and 3-11 in the Landmark.
After honoring their five seniors - Matthew Mancuso (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), Kyle DeVerna (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial), Danny Doolan (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge), Jack Dreisbach (Allentown, Pa./Parkland), and Lucas Hackett (Millington, N.J./Watchung Hills Regional) - Scranton saw Goucher take an early 21-16 lead with seven minutes to go in the first half.
But, that lead for the visiting Gophers was short-lived, as the Royals went on a 19-0 tear over a five minute period to open up a 35-21 lead on Goucher with 2:08 left. The double-digit edge held for the Royals over the final moments of the first half, as Scranton went into the locker room holding a 39-29 lead on Goucher.
In the second half, Scranton remained in the lead throughout, but Goucher was able to cut the Royals' advantage down to four points on two separate occasions, the last coming with 8:14 left at 63-59. But, as they did in the first half, the Royals went on a scoring run to put the Gophers away for the season, as a 10-0 spurt put Scranton in control at 73-59 with 5:55 left.
From there, the Royals coasted down the stretch, as they end the 2019-20 regular season with a 10-3 ledger (6-1 in Landmark play) at home in the Long Center.
Overall, Bailey had a hot hand in the victory for Scranton, finishing with 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the floor. Bailey, who only played 23 minutes in the win, also pulled down four rebounds.
Elsewhere, Mancuso once again registered a double-double, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while dishing out eight assists. For Mancuso, it marked the 12th time on the year he has recorded a double-double, as he scored in double-figures in all but one game on the 2019-20 regular season. Rounding out the double-digit scorers was DeVerna, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
Goucher was led in the loss by Cam Issacs, who had 16 points.
Scranton will now head to Drew (who finished the year with a 20-5 overall record, 11-3 in the Landmark) on Wednesday, marking the second straight season in which the Royals and the Rangers will face off in the Landmark Conference semifinals. In the regular season, the teams split, with the road team winning each match-up. On Jan. 29, Scranton pulled out a 69-59 victory in Madison, while this past Wednesday, Drew used a huge second half comeback to collect a 73-70 win in the Long Center.
More information will be posted on athletics.scranton.edu on the 2020 Landmark Conference men's basketball playoffs as it becomes available.
--ROYALS--