Brendan Boken	Ross Danzig
Justin Klingman

Box Score
Photo Gallery (courtesy of Emma Black)

SCRANTON, Pa.—Prior to tip-off of The University of Scranton men’s basketball game against Juniata College Saturday evening at the Long Center, sophomore guard Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy) was presented the 60th annual John ‘Les’ Dickman Award as the Royals’ most valuable player (MVP).

Then he went out and proved why he deserved it.

Danzig connected on 6 of 10 shots from the field and finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, and three assists to lead the Royals to an 81-60 victory.  Scranton, which improved to 14-5 overall and 6-3 in the Landmark Conference, also received 12 points and six rebounds from freshman forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) and 12 points from junior guard Tommy Morgan (Greenlawn, NY/Chaminade).

Juniata, which had a five-game winning streak snapped and fell to 13-6 overall and 5-3 in conference play, was led by junior guard Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) with 18 points and junior guard Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W.Va./John Marshall) added 11.

The Royals dominated the Eagles from the start, establishing their low-post game from the start and never left their foot off the gas.  

Scranton shot nearly 52 percent from the field in the first half to build up a 37-26 lead by intermission, then broke it open midway through the second half, building up a 23-point cushion. To their credit, the Eagles did cut the margin to 13 with 4:56 remaining before Royal sophomore guard Justin Klingman (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) knocked down a 3-pointer to take the wind out of Juniata’s sails.

Klingman provided a major spark off the bench tonight.  He played 15 minutes, connected on both of his field goal attempts, and finished with a career-high tying eight points, two assists, and did not have a turnover.  Overall, the Royal bench out-scored Juniata’s reserves, 25-16.

The key, however, was Scranton’s domination down low.  The Royals out-scored the Eagles, 42-22, in points in the paint.  With the type of shots the Royals were getting, it wasn’t surprising they shot a season-high 58.3 percent from the field, including nearly 67 percent after intermission.  Scranton also knocked down 19 of 25 free throw attempts (19 of 25).

Juniata, on the other hand, shot only 32 percent in the first half and just 36.7 percent for the game.

With just five Landmark Conference games remaining, the win moves Scranton into sole possession of second place, a game and a half behind Catholic University for the top spot and home-court advantage throughout the postseason tournament.

The Royals will play their final non-conference game of the season this Tuesday, January 29, when they take on Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, beginning at 7:00 p.m.

--ROYALS--