Box Score

SCRANTON - Junior forward Ryan Ems (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional) had one the best games of his career at The University of Scranton with 27 points and 11 rebounds, as a late three-pointer by fellow junior Jack Lambert (Cooperstown, N.Y./Cooperstown) sent the game to overtime, where the Royals took control to capture an 84-80 win over Cabrini in men's basketball action Monday afternoon in the John Long Center.

With the win, the Royals evened up their record to 5-5 on the year, while Cabrini fell to 4-7 with the tough loss.

For most of the day on Monday, Scranton held a lead over Cabrini and kept the Cavaliers at arm's length.

With 6:35 to go in the first half, Scranton took their biggest lead of the game at that point when a 14-2 run gave the Royals a 28-15 lead. But, to end the half, Cabrini went on a scoring surge of their own, as a 16-5 run by the Cavaliers sliced the Royals' lead all the way down to 33-31 at halftime.

Out of the break, however, Scranton took control back, as an 11-3 spurt in the first three and a half minutes of the second half gave the Royals a double-digit lead yet again at 44-34.

That sizeable lead held for the Royals for almost the rest of the game. But, late in regulation, the Cavaliers made a huge run at Scranton and almost won the contest in regulation in the process.

With Scranton up, 69-64, with 2:14 to go, Cabrini shocked the Royals with a 6-0 scoring run that put the Cavaliers up, 70-69, with 37 seconds left. This, ironically, was Cabrini's first lead in the game since holding a 5-4 edge with 18 minutes left in the first half.

After a Scranton miss, Cabrini tacked on two more points on the free-throw line to make it a 72-69 game with 17 seconds left, setting the stage for some heroics from Lambert.

The junior, who made his first career start at home in the game, drained what turned out to be his only made shot of the contest with four seconds left to tie the game up at 72-all. On the final possession of regulation, a shot at the buzzer by Cabrini rattled out, sending the game to overtime.

In their second overtime contest in as many home games, Scranton took control up by just one (76-75) with under two minutes left in the extra session. Here, junior Stephen Braunstein (Colts Neck, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) got a friendly roll into the basket on a long three, giving the Royals the lead for good at 79-75 with 1:47 left.

The three was a momentum boost for the Royals that carried them over the final moments of overtime, as an Ems lay-up (after a defensive stop) with a minute left put Scranton up by six (81-75).

The rest of the way, the Royals salted the game away with three made free throws, and despite a late three by Cabrini, walked away and into Christmas break with a hard-fought four-point victory.

Overall, Ems led the way with his career-best afternoon in points (27) and season-high in rebounds (11) to notch his first double-double of the year. Shooting 10-of-14 from the floor, he also was an impressive 7-of-8 from the free throw line, as well.

Elsewhere, Braunstein finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, while senior Jackson Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights) had 11 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. Freshman Mason Thompson (Prairie Village, Kan./Rockhurst) came off the bench and chipped in with 11 points, as well.

Cabrini was led in the defeat by Aquil Stewart, who had 30 points.

The University of Scranton men's basketball team now takes 11 days off for the Christmas holiday, returning to the hardwood on New Year's Eve at King's. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.

--ROYALS--