BALTIMORE, MD -- The University of Scranton men's basketball team lost to Goucher College 71-52 in Landmark Conference action on Saturday afternoon.

The Basics

• Final Score: Goucher 71, Scranton 52
• Records: Goucher (2-7, 1-3 LC), Scranton (3-4, 1-3 LC)

How it Happened

• The Gophers jumped out to an early 6-0 lead as they drilled two three-point attempts on back-to-back offensive possessions to begin the first half.
• Senior Mason Thompson got the scoring started for the Royals, knocking down a three pointer of his own off of a pass from junior Jon Spatola to cut the lead in half.
• After Goucher increased the lead to 10-3 with a pair of layups, the Royals responded as Spatola hit a jump shot and graduate student Tahaj Parland made a pair of free throws to cut the lead to three.
• Senior Will McLoughlin got on the board with his first points of the game, taking a feed from freshman Will Marion and finishing through contact, converting the and-1 at the line to bring the Goucher lead down to 11-10.
• Goucher would then go on a 22-5 run over the next nine minutes, with the Royals only points during that span coming from a layup from freshman Kylon Brown and a McLoughlin three-pointer.
• With the Royals behind 37-17 with 2:48 to play in the half, the Royals cut the deficit from 20 to 14 as Parland added two points and McLoughlin collected four points, two of which came from free throws. 
• However, before the end of the half. Goucher added a pair of free throws of their own and headed into half time with a 39-23 lead.
• Scranton opened the first six of the second half on a 12-2 run, clawing their way back within six points.
• McLoughlin began the run scoring on a jumper in the paint and then going 1-2 on free throws after drawing a foul on the next possession. A few minutes later, Parland drilled a three-pointer, Brown added a pair of buckets and Spatola nailed a jumper, making it a 41-35 game.
• Goucher responded by going on a huge 22-2 of their own, with the only points of this fourteen-minute run coming from senior Colin Merriman's layup in the paint as the Royals found themselves trailing 63-39 with 6:15 left in the game.
• Brown led the Royals effort the rest of the way, accounting for seven of the final 13 points of the game for Scranton. The freshman scored on a fast break layup on the Royals last possession of the game as they fell 71-52.

Top Performers

• Brown, in his first start of the season, tallied a game-high 15 points with four rebounds and one steal.
• McLoughlin added 13 points and collected five rebounds with one block.
• Spatola led the team with four assists while adding four rebounds and four points.

Inside the Box Score

• Scranton's defense forced 16 turnovers, three of which were steals, leading to 11 offensive points for the Royals.
• The Royals were 30% from the field, while the Gophers shot 52%.
• Scranton dished out 8 assists, while Goucher had 12.

Up Next
The Royals will play next on Dec. 16 against Arcadia University at the John Long Center at 2:00 PM.