Sophomore guard Ryan FitzPatrick (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) scored 12 of his game-high 15 points during a three-minute span midway through the second-half as The University of Scranton broke open a close game to defeat Clarkson University, 62-38, at the John J. Long, S.J., Center Thursday.
Junior center Tom Bicknell (Melbourne, Australia/St. Bede’s College) added 10 points and junior guard Randy Arnold (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) contributed nine points, five assists, five steals and three rebounds as the Royals won their third straight game to improve to 4-2. Sophomore guard Brian Salanger (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee) led Clarkson, which lost its second straight game to fall to 5-2, with 13 points and senior forward Jon Youngmann (Corinth, N.Y./Corinth) had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Despite shooting only 26.7 percent from the field in the first-half (8 for 30), the Royals still managed to build up a five-point halftime lead, 24-19, behind six points apiece by sophomore forward Paul Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) and senior guard Darren Cannon (Paupack, Pa./Wallenpaupack Area). The Knights shot a respectable 43.8 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play but were guilty of 16 turnovers.
Scranton shooting woes continued early in the second-half. Leading 30-26 with 13:17 remaining, the Royals got a big lift off the bench by freshman forward Eli Londo (Hamlin, Pa./North Pocono), who made a steal and fed Arnold for a lay-up, then scored on a lay-up off of a steal by junior guard James Powell (Miami, Fla./Palmetto) to key an 8-0 run to give Scranton its first significant lead, 38-26, with 9:23 left. Arnold scored five of Scranton’s eight points during that crucial run.
FitzPatrick then took over the game by hitting four 3-pointers during a three-minute span as the Royals broke the game open with an 18-3 spurt to take a comfortable 27-point lead, 56-29, with 4:37 remaining. Scranton shot 53.8 percent in the second-half (14 of 26) to finish 39.3 percent for the game. Powell finished with a career-high five steals to go along with four points, three assists, a rebound and a block in 17 minutes of action off the bench.
The Knights’ managed just seven field goals in the second-half and ended the game with 29 turnovers.
CLARKSON (5-2) Brian Salanger 4-8 5-5 13; Jon Youngmann 4-6 1-2 10; Ryan Smith 2-4 1-2 5; EJ Harrison 2-5 0-0 4; John Chiero 1-2 0-0 2; Elson Pickering 1-3 0-0 2; Erick Vigansky 0-3 2-2 2; Henry Hennep 0-1 0-0 0; Keith Murray 0-3 0-0 0; Brandon Linton 0-0 0-0 0; Kevin Linares 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-35 9-11 38. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (4-2) FitzPatrick, Ryan 5-7 0-0 15; Bicknell, Tom 3-7 4-6 10; Arnold, Randy 4-8 1-1 9; Biagioli, Paul 4-13 0-0 8; Hawk, Paul 2-7 0-0 6; Cannon, Darren 2-4 0-0 6; Londo, Eli 1-3 2-2 4; Powell, James 1-3 2-2 4; Fuller, Brendan 0-2 0-0 0; Alfier, Joe 0-0 0-0 0; Osborne, Chris 0-0 0-0 0; O'Connell, Dan 0-2 0-0 0; Kirk, Ryan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-56 9-11 62. Clarkson...................... 19 19 - 38 University of Scranton........ 24 38 - 62 3-point goals-Clarkson 1-6 (Jon Youngmann 1-1; EJ Harrison 0-1; Erick Vigansky 0-1; Keith Murray 0-2; Brian Salanger 0-1), University of Scranton 9-18 (FitzPatrick, Ryan 5-5; Hawk, Paul 2-5; Cannon, Darren 2-4; Biagioli, Paul 0-1; Londo, Eli 0-1; Fuller, Brendan 0-1; O'Connell, Dan 0-1). Fouled out--Clarkson-None, University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-Clarkson 33 (Jon Youngmann 7), University of Scranton 23 (Bicknell, Tom 4). Assists-Clarkson 8 (Brian Salanger 2), University of Scranton 17 (Arnold, Randy 5). Total fouls-Clarkson 13, University of Scranton 12. A-300