SCRANTON, Pa. – Lycoming's Steven Hamilton sank a jumper with under three seconds left in regulation and The University of Scranton men's basketball team (4-20, 2-15 Landmark) dropped a 57-55 heartbreaker to the Warriors (9-15, 5-12 Landmark) on Wednesday evening at the John Long Center in Scranton.

The Royals had tied the game at 55 apiece on a layup from senior Tahaj Parland (Neptune, N.J./Mater Dei) with 1:10 left. Following a turnover on the other end, Hamilton pulled up just to the right of the free throw line and was able to sink the go-ahead jumper.

Wednesday's game was a back-and-forth affair that featured eight ties and seven lead changes.

Both sides got off to a slow start offensively and a jumper from sophomore Jon Spatola (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro) made it 6-0 in favor of the Royals with 15:03 left in the opening half. Later in the half, fellow sophomore Luca Baratta (Richboro, Pa./Perkiomen School) sank a jumper to give Scranton a 10-5 edge before Lycoming used an 11-2 run to take a 16-12 lead at the 4:17 mark. Spatola hit a jumper in the final minute that brought the Royals within three at the half at 19-16.

The Warriors held a slight 28-25 lead with 14:40 to play when junior Colin Merriman (Mount Laurel, N.J./Camden Catholic) hit a layup and freshman Brendan Carr (Northport, N.Y./Northport) buried a three to give the hosts a 30-28 edge for the time being. Both sides continued to trade baskets over the next several minutes and the game was deadlocked at 37 apiece before a Spatola jumper ignited a 10-4 spurt that gave Scranton a 47-41 lead at the 7:00 mark. The Royals also held a 49-43 edge before consecutive threes from the Warriors tied the game at 49 apiece with 5:04 remaining. Over the final five plus minutes, the game was tied at 51, 53 and 55 apiece before Hamilton's afore-mentioned jumper proved to be the difference.

Spatola tallied 14 points to lead Scranton offensively and Parland added 10 points of his own, while Carr had eight on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting night.

Hamilton and Hayden Pardoe had 16 apiece to pace the Warriors.

Head coach Carl Danzig's team was 22-of-54 (40.7%) from the field and 5-of-20 (25.0%) from long range in the contest and Lycoming shot 33.8% (22-of-65) from the floor and 21.2% (7-of-33) from deep.

The Royals will host Elizabethtown to conclude the 2023-24 season on Saturday afternoon at the John Long Center at 2 p.m.

--ROYALS--