Kevin Doolan	Brendan Boken
John Vitkus	Ethan Danzig

Box score

Photo gallery (by Emma Black)

The University of Scranton men's basketball team begin 2016 the same way it ended 2015 – by flexing its defensive muscle in another victory.

The Royals buckled down in the second half to pull away from Elizabethtown for a 79-50 victory in the Long Center, their second straight Landmark Conference victory and fourth straight overall. Four players finished in double figures, led by sophomore point guard Kevin Doolan (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge), who finished with a game-high 17 points.

Scranton (9-2, 2-1 Landmark) pulled away late in a somewhat sluggish first half to take a 36-29 lead into the locker room. The Royals came back out for the second half and clamped down defensively while finding their shooting touch at the same time.

Scranton outscored Elizabethtown, 43-21, in the second half, holding the Blue Jays (2-9, 0-3 Landmark) to just six made field goals and 24 percent (6-for-25) from the field. On the offensive end, the Royals were 15-for-29 (51.7 percent) from the field in the second half, and turned the ball over just five times. They also held a 23-15 edge in rebounding in the second half.

Senior forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) nearly recorded his first career triple-double, finishing with 16 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals in 30 minutes. It marked the 10^th time in 11 games this season that he has scored at least 16 points.

Scranton also received 15 points each from junior forward John Vitkus (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) and sophomore guard Ethan Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights). Vitkus went 7-for-8 from the field, raising his season field goal percentage to a sizzling 65.3 percent (47-for-72), while pulling down seven rebounds. Danzig canned a season-high five 3-pointers for his 15 points, including three straight as the Royals pulled away in the second half.

For the game, Scranton shot 50 percent (30-for-60) from the field and made 12 of 20 free throws. The Royals held a 43-33 edge in rebounds and had an impressive 42-16 advantage in points in the paint. They also had assists on 21 of their 30 made field goals, as Doolan added six assists and senior guard Marcus Thomas (Clarksburg, Md./Clarksburg) had four.

The Royals return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 5, when they travel to Madison, N.J. to take on Drew in a Landmark Conference game at 7 p.m.

--ROYALS--