SCRANTON, PA -- Senior Jon Spatola's game-winning shot with five seconds left in the game powered The University of Scranton men's basketball team to a hard fought 57-55 victory over Lehman College Friday night in the John Long Center. 

The Basics

• Final Score: Scranton 57, Lehman 55
• Records: Scranton (1-0), Lehman (0-1)

How it Happened

• Lehman opened up the game with a five-point run over the first 4:15 of the game.
• Scranton got on the board in the fifth minute of the quarter as Spatola made a layup to cut the deficit to 5-2. The Lightning responded with six straight points, including a pair of free throws, opening it back up to a nine-point lead.
• Sophomore Sammy Tornabene made a layup with 11:55 left in the half and then both teams traded missed shots until sophomore Kylon Brown connected on a three-pointer to get the Royals within four at 11-7.
• The Lightning responded to the Brown three by tying their biggest lead of the night at nine points following an 8-2 run over the next five minutes.
• The Royals got back into the game in the last five minutes of the half, ending the period with a 12-2 run. A pair of three-pointers from junior Brendan Carr got Scranton within three points at 19-16 and Tornabene made a layup to bring the Royals within one.
• After a bucket put Lehman back ahead by three points, Tornabene tied the game with 1:02 on the clock with a three point play. Then, with just 37 seconds left in the first half, freshman Josias Carbon connected on one of two free throws to give Scranton its first lead of the game heading into halftime at 22-21.
• Scranton extended its lead in the first nine minutes of the second half to nine points with a 16-8 run powered by Spatola and Tornabene. The senior, Spatola, scored six points in the stretch, and Tornabene tallied 10 points during the run as the Royals took their biggest lead of the game with 11 minutes left in the contest.
• Lehman got back in the game in the final ten minutes of the half, going on its own run to tie the game at 55-55 with just 1:18 to play. The Lightning were aided by seven made free throws in a span of six minutes, and Ricardo Dixon scored seven points and Zay Marte made the game-tying layup.
• Tornabene grabbed the clutch defensive rebound and Scranton called a timeout with 29 seconds left in the game. After timeout, Spatola took a shot that missed, but Carr grabbed the board and found Spatola again and this time, he drained the jumper with just five seconds left in the game to give Scranton a two-point lead.
• On the next possession, Lehman was fouled, sending Kofi Mends to the line for two free throws, but he missed both and Tornabene grabbed the rebound to secure the 57-55 win for the Royals.

Top Performers

• Tornabene led the way with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists.
• Spatola made the game-winning shot and scored 15 points with six boards.
• Carr tallied 11 points and two rebounds in his first career start.

Inside the Box Score

• Scranton only missed two free-throw attempts, going 8-10 from the line. 
• The Royals were 36.2% from the field, while the Lightning shot 35.2%.

Up Next 

• The Royals will play in the Hilton Scranton Invitational Championship game at 4:00 PM tomorrow against either DeSales University at the John Long Center.