ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Senior Jackson Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights) led six Royals in double figures with a game-high 20 points and The University of Scranton men's basketball team (13-9, 7-5 Landmark) held off a late Elizabethtown rally in an 85-82 victory over the Blue Jays (8-14, 3-9 Landmark) on Saturday afternoon at Thompson Gymnasium.

With the win, the Royals moved into sole possession of the fourth and final playoff spot in the Landmark Conference with two regular season games remaining. Head coach Carl Danzig's squad holds a one game edge over Juniata who fell at Drew by a score of 75-67 on Saturday.

The Landmark Conference Tournament will get underway on Feb. 23 with semifinal action.

Following a made free throw from senior Jack Brockett (Shamong, N.J./Seneca) with five seconds to play that gave the Royals an 85-82 lead, the Blue Jays' Jared Archer misfired on a last second three point attempt at the buzzer. Elizabethtown also had a chance to tie it with 0:46 to play, but Ryan Fitzpatrick missed a layup that would have evened things at 84 apiece.

The Royals were on fire offensively out of the gate in this one as Danzig hit a jumper to open up a 15-6 lead with 16:06 to play in the first half. ETown answered with an 11-2 spurt to even things at 17 apiece at the 13:22 mark and neither team led by more than four for the remainder of the half as both teams shot over 55% from the floor in the opening stanza. A three-pointer from freshman Mason Thompson (Prairie Village, Kan./Rockhurst) in the final seconds gave the Royals a 44-40 lead at halftime.

Scranton opened up the second half on a 16-8 run and Danzig capped the run with a made free throw for a 60-48 advantage with 12:04 remaining. ETown would continue to hang around however and cut the lead to eight on a couple occasions before making the afore-mentioned late rally. Brockett scored six straight points and a layup made it 80-71 Royals at the 4:48 mark, but the Blue Jays responded with an 11-4 spurt over the next four plus minutes that cut the lead to two at 84-82 and set the stage for the chaotic final minute.

Danzig added seven rebounds and four assists to go along with his game-high 20 points, while sophomore Tahaj Parland (Neptune, N.J./Mater Dei) added 14 on 5-of-7 shooting and Brockett was 4-of-5 from the floor en route to 13 points of his own. The trio of Thompson, junior Stephen Braunstein (Colts Neck, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) and freshman Will McLoughlin (Glen Rock, N.J./Glen Rock) all chipped in with 11 points apiece in the victory.

Dylan Rowe paced the Blue Jays with 18 points and Fitzpatrick added 15 in the setback.

The Royals shot a staggering 60.8% (31-of-51) from the floor in the win and made 9-of-22 (40.9%) from beyond the arc, while ETown was 33-of-61 (54.1%) from the field and 9-of-17 (52.9%) from deep.

Danzig's seven rebounds led the way for Scranton who held a 32-22 edge on the boards.

The University of Scranton men's basketball team is back in action on Wednesday night as they hit the road to battle first place Susquehanna with opening tip in Selinsgrove slated for 7 p.m.

--ROYALS--