Junior guard Randy Arnold (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) scored a season-high 16 points and junior center Tom Bicknell (Melbourne, Australia/St. Bede’s College) posted his second ‘double-double’ of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds to lead The University of Scranton to a 70-53 victory over Denison University in the opening round of the DIII Desert Shootout late Wednesday evening.
Sophomore forwards Paul Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) and Paul Biagioli (Waverly, Pa./Abington Heights) combined for 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Royals won their sixth straight game to improve to 7-2. Scranton, which shot nearly 46 percent from the field in the first-half to open up a 33-21 lead at intermission, advances to Wednesday’s championship game against Manhattanville College, which defeated Clarke College (Iowa), 68-61, in the other semifinal match-up. Senior forward Dan Hodgkinson (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) led Denison, now 1-8, with a game-high 21 points and senior guard/forward Dan Izzo (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) added eight points and five rebounds.
The Royals put together another solid defensive effort, holding its fourth opponent this season to less than 60 points. Denison dug itself an early hole by making only 6 of 22 field goal attempts in the first-half (27.3 percent). The Big Red also turned the ball over 22 times.
Arnold’s 16-point effort eclipses his previous highs of 15 points in a 75-69 loss at King’s on November 22, in a 78-70 victory over FDU-Florham on December 2, and in a 89-60 victory over Cabrini College on December 16. In his last four games, he is averaging 11.5 points while shooting 58.0 percent from the field (18 of 31).
Bicknell’s ‘double-double’ was the ninth of his career.
DENISON (1-8) Dan Hodgkinson 5-9 11-13 21; Dan Izzo 2-4 4-4 8; Brian Elder 1-3 3-3 5; Shea McMahon 2-5 0-0 5; Chris Luther 1-4 0-0 3; John Ward 1-4 0-0 3; Steve Koecheler 1-2 0-0 2; Brian Gognat 0-2 2-2 2; Jeremy Stuhlfauth 1-2 0-0 2; Pat Sullivan 1-2 0-0 2; Tom Perkins 0-0 0-0 0; Jack Twyman 0-1 0-0 0; Chris Eberst 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 15-40 20-22 53. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (7-2) Arnold, Randy 6-12 2-2 16; Bicknell, Tom 5-10 1-2 11; Hawk, Paul 4-8 1-4 11; Biagioli, Paul 3-6 4-4 10; FitzPatrick, Ryan 3-6 1-2 8; Cannon, Darren 0-5 6-6 6; Powell, James 3-7 0-1 6; O'Connell, Dan 0-0 2-4 2; Alfier, Joe 0-0 0-0 0; Fuller, Brendan 0-1 0-0 0; Londo, Eli 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-55 17-25 70. Denison....................... 21 32 - 53 The University of Scranton.... 33 37 - 70 3-point goals-Denison 3-14 (Chris Luther 1-3; John Ward 1-3; Shea McMahon 1-4; Jack Twyman 0-1; Chris Eberst 0-2; Brian Elder 0-1), The University of Scranton 5-24 (Hawk, Paul 2-6; Arnold, Randy 2-5; FitzPatrick, Ryan 1-4; Cannon, Darren 0-5; Powell, James 0-2; Fuller, Brendan 0-1; Biagioli, Paul 0-1). Fouled out--Denison-None, The University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-Denison 28 (Dan Izzo 5), The University of Scranton 34 (Bicknell, Tom 11). Assists-Denison 5 (Brian Elder 2), The University of Scranton 11 (Arnold, Randy 5). Total fouls-Denison 20, The University of Scranton 23.