Travis Farrell	Ross Danzig
Michael Barr	Brendan Boken

Box score

Photo Gallery (courtesy of Barry Ashworth)

Photo Gallery (courtesy of Dan Ceccacci)

The University of Scranton men's basketball team overcame a four-point halftime deficit with strong second-half defense as the Royals held off Oneonta State to post a 62-55 victory on Friday evening in the opening round of the Radisson Invitational in the John Long Center.

Scranton (1-0) held Oneonta State (0-1) to just 23 points in the second half to advance to Saturday's championship against Baruch at 4 p.m. Oneonta State will face York at 2 p.m. in the consolation.

The Royals (No. 18 in D3hoops.com Top 25) received 17 points each from senior guard Travis Farrell (Middletown, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) and sophomore guard Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy, N.J.) while winning their home opener for the eighth straight year.

The Red Dragons took a 32-28 lead at halftime by holding Scranton to just 32.1 percent (9-for-28) from the field. But the Royals turned the tables after the break, holding Oneonta State to just 28.6 percent (8-for-28) from the field, including 4-for-16 inside the 3-point arc.

Scranton trailed 44-41 at the 11:13 mark when the Royals went on a 13-0 run that was capped by Farrell's only 3-pointer of the night for a 54-44 lead with 3:37 to play. The Red Dragons got no closer than six the rest of the way.

The Royals also received nine points from junior guard Michael Barr (North Wales, Pa./Lansdale Catholic). Scranton also received nine rebounds from Danzig, eight from freshman forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) and seven from Farrell.

Scranton enjoyed a hefty advantage at the free throw line, making 21 of 28 attempts (75 percent) while Oneonta State was 7-for-7 from the stripe.

The Royals finished the night shooting 34.5 percent (19-for-55), including 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) from 3-point range. Oneonta State also shot 34.5 percent (20-for-58) while connecting on eight of 23 3-pointers (34.8 percent).

Scranton turned it over just seven times while forcing 16 miscues by the Red Dragons. Oneonta State won the battle of the boards, 42-38.

Oneonta State was led by freshman forward Jackson Zuvic (Cold Spring, N.Y./Haldane), who scored a game high-21, while sophomore guard Zach Mager (New City, N.Y./Clarkstown South) had 14 points and 16 rebounds.

--ROYALS--