Ross Danzig	Brendan Boken

Box Score
Photo Gallery (courtesy of Emma Black)

SCRANTON, Pa.—Drew University junior guard Luke Glass (Rumson, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven) put a stake into the heart of The University of Scranton men’s basketball team Wednesday evening at the Long Center.

Glass capped off a game-high 33-point performance with a 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds remaining to lift the Rangers to a 72-69 victory.   

Drew, now 8-8 overall and 2-3 in the Landmark Conference, also received 13 points and seven rebounds from sophomore forward Chris Capelli (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan) and eight points apiece from freshman guard Mike Klinger (Franklin Park, NJ/Rutgers Preparatory School) and junior guard John Ford (Holbrook, NY/Sachem North).

Scranton, which had a six-game winning streak snapped and fell to 12-4 overall and 4-2 in the conference, was led by sophomore guard Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy) with 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds—his team-leading fifth ‘double double’ of the season—and freshman forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) finished with 18 points and six rebounds.

Registering its first win at Scranton since February 17, 1997, Drew shot nearly 49 percent from the field, including 50 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, and turned the ball over only eight times.

More than anything, however, the Rangers held their composure after the Royals appeared to be gaining the upper hand, building up a 7-point margin with 13:28.  Drew quickly erased that margin as Glass scored five points during a 10-0 spurt over the next two minutes to take a 50-48 lead.

Scranton then managed to build up two six-point leads after that, but the Rangers held their ground each time.  

Ford hit back-to-back 3-pointers to help erase a Scranton’s second 6-point lead with 5:20 left and a Glass answered with a lay-up and a 3-pointer to give the Rangers a 4-point cushion, 65-61 with 58 seconds remaining.  

Danzig then sandwiched four free throws around a missed front end of a one-on-one free throw situation by the Rangers to tie it up with 23 seconds remaining.  After a timeout, Glass buried a 3-pointer off the dribble at the top of the key for the game-winner.

Scranton did manage to get the ball to half-court on its final possession, but Danzig’s desperation heave was well short of the mark.

The Royals held a 38-31 advantage in rebounding, but the Rangers countered that by taking the ball to the basket off the dribble, finishing with 28 points-in-the-paint.  Drew also snapped a 15-game losing skid against Scranton at the Long Center.

For the game, the Royals shot only 38.2 percent from the field to suffer their fourth home loss of the season, their most since 2007.

Scranton will return to action this Saturday, January 19, against 11th-ranked Catholic University in Landmark Conference action at the DuFour Center in Washington, DC, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

--ROYALS--