Junior center Tom Bicknell (Melbourne, Australia/St. Bede’s College) snapped out of an early season scoring slump by tying his career-high with 20 points as The University of Scranton handed FDU-Florham its first loss of the season, 78-70, in Freedom Conference action Saturday at the Long Center.
Sophomore forward Paul Biagioli (Waverly, Pa./Abington Heights) came off the bench to connect on 8 of 10 shots from the field en route to a career-high 17 points as the Royals snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the Freedom Conference. Scranton, which shot 47.2 percent from the field and connected on 21 of 27 free throw attempts (77.8 percent), also received 15 points from junior guard Randy Arnold (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) and 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks from sophomore forward Paul Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Methacton).
FDU-Florham, which fell to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in league play, was led by senior forward Pierre Schmitt (Park Ridge, N.J./Park Ridge) with a game-high 23 points, sophomore guard Ryan McPherson (West Orange, N.J./West Orange) added 17 points and seven rebounds, and senior guard Brian Dillon (West Orange, N.J./West Orange) contributed 12 points and a game-high seven assists.
Bicknell, who entered the game averaging only 5.3 points, scored 11 points in the second-half to help wipe away a 39-38 halftime lead by the Devils. McPherson knocked down 5 of 7 shots from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc, as FDU-Florham used its advantage in quickness to get the Royals into an up-tempo game.
The Royals’ countered by posting up Biagioli against FDU-Florham’s guards. He backed his way into the lane on numerous occasions and connected on five of six shots from the field—mostly on lay-ups—to finish with 10 points in the opening 20 minutes of play.
The score was tied five times in the second-half before Hawk and sophomore guard Ryan FitzPatrick (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Bicknell scored down low to give Scranton a 72-64 lead with 3:06 remaining. FDU-Florham cut the margin to three twice, the last of which occurred with 1:48 left on one of two free throws by senior guard Frankie Emslie (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan). The Devils, however, were guilty of four turnovers from that point on and Scranton took advantage by draining five free throws in the final minute of play to ice the win.
Bicknell’s previous high of 20 points came in a 77-52 victory over FDU-Florham on February 4, 2006, at the Long Center. Biagioli has now scored in double-figures in three of four games coming in off the bench for Scranton this year.
FDU-Florham, which made 9 3-point field goals, cooled off considerably in the second-half and connected on only 9 of 27 field goal attempts (33.3 percent) to finish 39.6 percent for the game. The Devils did, however, make 19 of 23 attempts (86.2 percent) from the free throw line and out-rebounded Scranton, 36-29.
Scranton will continue a four-game home-stand this Monday, December 4, against the Lions of The College of New Jersey. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Long Center.
FDU-FLORHAM (5-1/1-1 Freedom) Pierre Schmitt 7-14 8-9 23; Ryan McPherson 6-11 0-0 17; Brian Dillon 4-9 2-2 12; Frank Emslie 1-9 3-4 6; Andrew Biancosino 1-4 4-6 6; Milton LaCroix 1-3 2-2 4; Brian Rimol 1-2 0-0 2; Cody Chalmers 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-53 19-23 70. UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (2-2/1-1 Freedom) Bicknell, Tom 7-12 6-8 20; Biagioli, Paul 8-10 0-1 17; Arnold, Randy 4-8 6-6 15; Hawk, Paul 4-7 0-1 12; FitzPatrick, Ryan 2-9 3-4 8; O'Connell, Dan 0-0 6-6 6; Cannon, Darren 0-2 0-0 0; Fuller, Brendan 0-2 0-0 0; Powell, James 0-2 0-1 0; Kirk, Ryan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-53 21-27 78. FDU-Florham................... 39 31 - 70 University of Scranton........ 38 40 - 78 3-point goals-FDU-Florham 9-21 (Ryan McPherson 5-6; Brian Dillon 2-3; Frank Emslie 1-7; Pierre Schmitt 1-3; Cody Chalmers 0-1; Andrew Biancosino 0-1), University of Scranton 7-16 (Hawk, Paul 4-6; FitzPatrick, Ryan 1-4; Arnold, Randy 1-2; Biagioli, Paul 1-1; Fuller, Brendan 0-1; Cannon, Darren 0-2). Fouled out--FDU-Florham-Brian Rimol, University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-FDU-Florham 36 (Frank Emslie 10), University of Scranton 29 (Bicknell, Tom 8). Assists-FDU-Florham 16 (Brian Dillon 7), University of Scranton 19 (Arnold, Randy 4; Bicknell, Tom 4; O'Connell, Dan 4). Total fouls-FDU-Florham 21, University of Scranton 18. A-500