ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Junior Cameron Khoza (State College, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) scored a career-high 20 points and The University of Scranton men's basketball team (3-9, 1-4 Landmark) outlasted the Elizabethtown Blue Jays (4-8, 1-4 Landmark) in a 79-70 victory on Wednesday night at Thompson Gymnasium in Elizabethtown.

Khoza knocked down a career-high six threes en route to the career-best performance.

The Blue Jays cut the lead to six on two different occasions including at 64-58 with 3:27 to play before senior Tahaj Parland (Neptune, N.J./Mater Dei) hit a jumper and Khoza buried a three to stretch the lead back to double digits at 69-58 as Scranton was able to close out the victory.

Scranton led 13-10 with 12:58 remaining in the first half when Khoza hit a three to spark a 12-2 run and Parland capped things off with a layup that opened up a 25-12 lead. Elizabethtown was able to then fight back within six and scored the final four points of the half as the Royals took a 29-23 lead into the locker room.

Head coach Carl Danzig's team scored six of the first eight points in the second half and freshman Nick Ruisi (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields/Cheshire Academy) made a layup for a 35-25 advantage with 18:45 to play. From there, the Blue Jays used a quick 9-2 run that brought the game to three at 37-34, but sophomore Jon Spatola (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) hit a jumper out of a timeout which ignited a 13-0 run and Khoza put an exclamation point on things with a three that made it 50-34 at the 12:39 mark. ETown then sliced the lead to six at the 8:19 mark before sophomore Teddy Spratt (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) sank a pair of free throws and Khoza later connected on a three to extend the lead back to 12 at 62-50. The Blue Jays were unable to get any closer than six the rest of the way and the Royals went 8-of-8 from the line over the final 3:41 to ice the victory.

Khoza was joined in double figures by Parland with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting and Spatola with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists. For Khoza, his 20 points surpasses his previous career-high of 17 that had been set in a win at King's on Dec. 31, 2022.

Rance Russo paced the Blue Jays with 18 points and Reese Ziegler added 16.

The Royals shot 45.9% (28-of-61) from the floor, 34.8% (8-of-23) from deep and 93.8% (15-of-16) from the charity stripe. ETown was 25-of-62 (40.3%) from the field, 6-of-26 (23.1%) from long range and 14-of-21 (66.7%) at the free throw line.

ETown held a 41-35 edge on the glass and sophomore Luca Baratta (Richboro, Pa./Perkiomen School) led the Royals with seven.

Scranton returns home to host Susquehanna in a Landmark Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon with opening tip set for 2 p.m. in the John Long Center.

--ROYALS--