Box Score
Box
SELINSGROVE, Pa.—Another night, another nail-biter for The University of Scranton men’s basketball team.
Only this time, senior guard Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy-NJ) got help from his younger brother in leading the Royals to their fifth straight win, a 70-68 victory over Susquehanna University in Landmark Conference action Thursday evening at Houts Gymnasium.
Danzig finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds and freshman guard Ethan Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights) came off the bench and knocked down 5 of 7 shots—all from beyond the 3-point arc—to finish with a season-high 15 points as Scranton improve to 11-2 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
Junior guard Brandon Hedley (Silver Spring, Md./Salisbury Preparatory) led the Crusaders, now 9-4 overall and 2-2 in the Landmark, with 17 points, junior guard/forward Josh Miller (Strasburg, Pa./Lampeter Strasburg) had 14 points and six rebounds, and senior guard Matt McGugan (Silver Spring, Md./Blake) contributed 10 points.
Susquehanna had an opportunity to tie it or win it on its final possession, but Hedley missed a lay-up with three seconds remaining before Royal junior forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) came up with the rebound to seal it.
Boken finished with nine points, 10 rebounds, and three assists in 30 minutes of action and junior guard/forward Marcus Thomas (Clarksburg, Md./Clarksburg) had seven points, six rebounds and five assists for Scranton, which has had its last five wins decided by a combined total of 14 points.
To say that the Royals held on for a dear life tonight would be an understatement. They built up a 5-point lead with 3:52 remaining, but went scoreless the rest of the way—missing five shots and the front-end of a one-on-one free throw situation and committing a turnover on their last seven possessions.
Susquehanna failed to capitalize, however, turning the ball over twice and missing three shots before Hedley converted a lay-up and made a free throw with 54 seconds remaining in what turned out to be the final scoring play in a game that featured four ties, 13 lead changes, and whose largest lead was only eight points—by the Crusaders with 14:07 left in the first half.
For the game, Susquehanna shot only 39.3 percent from the field, including just 5 of 20 (25 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc.
Ross Danzig’s ‘double-double’ was his second of the season and the 13th of his career, while Ethan Danzig’s 15-point effort eclipses his previous high of 11 points against Centenary on November 15 and Juniata on December 6. Ross Danzig also moved into 13th-place on the Royals' all-time scoring list tonight with 1566 points, surpassing Joe Fitt (1560 points, 1951-1955).
Scranton will return to action Saturday, January 10, against Goucher College in Landmark Conference action beginning at 4:00 p.m. in the Long Center.
--ROYALS--
