SCRANTON, Pa. - The Goucher College men's basketball team placed three players in double figures, led by Jacob Morgan and Can Dalli scoring 14 points apiece, as the Gophers' defeated the University of Scranton 68-53 in Landmark Conference action Saturday afternoon at the John Long Center.  The win marked the Gophers' second-ever win against the Royals.

FIRST HALF

• Scranton (1-8, 0-4 Landmark) took a 5-4 lead following a Jon Spatola three-point play 2:40 into the contest.
• Back-to-back baskets by Morgan put Goucher (2-5, 1-3) in front 8-5.
• The Royals forged two ties and took a 15-14 lead before a Dalli three with 8:43 on the clock pushed Goucher back in front, 17-15.
• Tied 17-17, the Gophers scored nine straight points capped by a Darnell Morris Jr. basket with 6:03 before halftime to go up 26-17.
• The guests took their largest lead of the first half, 32-22, on two Morgan free throws 2:52 before intermission.
• Scranton pulled within six, 32-26, at the break.

SECOND HALF

• Baskets by Darrell Green and Liech Kong put the Gophers back up 10 1:17 into the second half.
• Scranton scored the game's next five points before a 16-2 Gopher run capped by a Morgan basket and a Green free throw put Goucher in front 52-33 with just under 14 minutes remaining.
• The Gophers took their largest lead, 61-37, with just over seven minutes on the clock following a Dalli basket.
• Goucher led 64-41 with 3:12 left before the Royals closed on a 12-4 run.

NUMBERS AND NOTES

• Goucher shot 65.2% (15-23) in the second half and 51.9% (28-54) for the game.  The Gophers were 5-18 behind the arc and 7-11 at the free throw line.
• The Gophers outrebounded Scranton 37-23.
• The Royals were limited to 33.3% (18-54) shooting for the game and were 5-19 from three and 12-17 at the charity stripe.
• Goucher's bench outscored the Royal reserves 32-16.
• Morgan, who reached double figures for the seventh straight time to open the season and ninth straight game dating back to last season, was 6-8 from the floor, including 6-6 on two-point attempts.  He grabbed eight rebounds and had four assists.
• Dalli finished with a career-best 14 points on 5-9 shooting, including 3-7 behind the arc.  
• First year Jaden Workman also finished with a career high, as he added 13 points, going 6-6 from the floor and 1-1 from three.  He dished out three assists and had a pair of steals.
• Green and Morris each added seven points, with Green grabbing eight rebounds.
• Goucher's win against Scranton was the second in 31 tries against the Royals, with the other coming on January 14, 2017, an 81-73 win at home.  The Royals had captured the last 11 meetings in the series.
• The Gophers' 15-point margin of victory was their largest since an 86-70 win against Catholic on February 19, 2020.
• Goucher first year head coach Justin Klingman is a 2015 graduate of Scranton and played four seasons for the Royals.

WHAT'S NEXT

• After breaking for finals, Goucher is back in action next Saturday, hosting first-year program Notre Dame (Md.) in a 2 pm game at the Decker Sports and Recreation Center.