Tim Lavelle	Travis Farrell
Jason Pierce	Ross Danzig

Box Score

Photo Gallery (courtesy of Barry Ashworth)

NEWBURGH, NY—The University of Scranton men’s basketball team pulled out a come-from-behind 64-57 victory Thursday over Mount Saint Mary College on a night when it like anything like its national ranking.

The 9th-ranked Royals overcame a sluggish first half and a season-high 18 turnovers to move to 6-0 for the first time since 1994.

Senior guard Travis Farrell (Middletown, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and senior guard Tim Lavelle (Clarks Green, Pa./Scranton Preparatory) and junior forward Jason Pierce (Scranton, Pa./Conestoga/Lackawanna College) chipped in 12 apiece as the Royals ended the game on a 22-10 run to erase a five-point deficit with 6:37 remaining.

Mount Saint Mary, now 4-4, was led by junior guards Donte Howell (Baldwin, NY/Baldwin Senior) and Joe Stabach (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea) with 13 points apiece.

Had it not been for Lavelle, the Royals could have found themselves in a much bigger hole.  Trailing by 13 with 7:02 left in the first half, he ignited a 13-6 rally with eight points to keep Scranton within striking distance, 30-24, by intermission.  He finished with 10 points in the first half and Pierce came off the bench added seven points and four rebounds to offset 11 turnovers by the Royals that the Knights converted into 15 points.

The Knights built up a 12-point lead early in the second half before Scranton continued to chip away.

Sophomore guard Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Height/Blair Academy), who finished with 11 points, pulled the Royals to within one, 47-46, with a 3-pointer with 5:50 left and sophomore guard Michael Fee (Richboro, Pa./St. Joseph’s Preparatory) followed with a momentum-changing 3-pointer that gave Scranton its first lead, 49-47, with 4:45 left.

Farrell then sandwiched a pair of lay-ups around a lay-up by Pierce over the next three minutes to give Scranton a 55-47 lead with 1:10 left.  

The Knights went nearly seven minutes without a basket until senior Lenny Ragaglia (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter’s Boys HS) broke the ice with a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left, but Lavelle, Farrell, and junior guard Michael Barr (North Wales, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) sealed it by making two free throws apiece down the stretch.

Scranton shot 52 percent from the field in the second half to finish 46 percent for the game.  

The Royals will host the Merchant Marine Academy in Landmark Conference action this Sunday, December 9, at 4:00 p.m. in the Long Center.  It is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Day.  All fans are encouraged to wear orange, the official color of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and donations will be accepted to benefit a local chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

News & Notes:  Pierce’s 12 points and nine rebounds were season highs…Scranton holds a 2-0 lead in the all-time series with Mount Saint Mary College…tonight was the first meeting between the two schools since the Royals defeated the Knights, 78-68, in an NCAA tournament game at the Long Center on March 2, 2000…Lavelle’s 12 points were a season high…Farrell’s 14 points moves him into 37th place on the Royals’ all-time scoring list with 1,025.

--ROYALS--