The Royals, now 15-3 overall and 6-1 in the Freedom Conference, also received 16 points from sophomore forward Paul Hawk (Audubon, Pa./Conestoga), 13 from sophomore forward Paul Biagioli (Waverly, Pa./Abington Heights) and 10 apiece from junior center Tom Bicknell (Melbourne, Australia/St. Bede’s College) and junior guard Randy Arnold (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West). Senior guard Isaiah Pickney (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) and sophomore guard Eric Lawton (Philadelphia, Pa./Strawberry Mansion) led the Aggies, who dropped their ninth straight game to fall to 3-15 overall and 1-6 in league play, with 22 points apiece.
Leading 30-28 late in the first-half, the Royals, sparked by five points by Hawk, went on a 7-0 run to take a 37-28 lead by intermission. Scranton shot 52.2 percent (12 of 23) from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play and continued that trend throughout the second-half. The Royals buried 15 of 27 field goal attempts in the second stanza to finish 54 percent for the game, including a highly respectable 47.4 percent (9 of 19) from beyond the 3-point arc. The Royals also took advantage of the free throw line by knocking 21 of 29 tosses (72.4 percent) from the charity stripe.
Scranton maintained a double-digit lead throughout most of the second-half.
FitzPatrick, who connected on 8 of 10 field goal attempts, has now scored 52 points in his last three games to raise his scoring average to 11.1 points per game. His previous career-high was a 21-point effort in a 79-66 victory over Manhattanville College in the final round of the DIII Desert Shootout on the campus of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) on December 20, 2006. Bicknell finished with a game-high 12 rebounds as the Royals out-rebounded the Aggies, 39-25. Bicknell’s ‘double-double’ was his seventh of the season and the 14th of his career.
Scranton will host the Rangers of Drew University in Freedom Conference action this Saturday, January 27, beginning at 3:00 p.m. at the Long Center.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (15-3/6-1 Freedom) FitzPatrick, Ryan 8-10 2-2 22; Hawk, Paul 5-11 3-5 16; Biagioli, Paul 4-6 4-6 12; Bicknell, Tom 4-8 2-6 10; Arnold, Randy 3-6 4-4 10; Powell, James 2-5 0-0 5; O'Connell, Dan 1-1 2-2 5; Cannon, Darren 0-3 4-4 4. Totals 27-50 21-29 84. DELAWARE VALLEY COLLEGE (3-15/1-6 Freedom) Isaiah Pinckney 7-15 4-4 22; Eric Lawton 8-15 3-5 22; Jason Seipt 1-5 3-4 6; Josh Taylor 3-7 0-0 6; Brian Hilinski 2-3 1-3 5; Ryan Thomas 1-6 2-2 4; Bill Gelsomini 1-2 0-0 3; Joe Lutz 0-0 0-0 0; Anthony Hodges 0-0 0-0 0; Matt Stevenson 0-0 0-0 0; Chris Del Vecchio 0-0 0-0 0; Dan MacDonald 0-0 0-0 0; Joe Rod 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 13-18 68. Scranton...................... 37 47 - 84 Delaware Valley............... 28 40 - 68 3-point goals-Scranton 9-19 (FitzPatrick, Ryan 4-6; Hawk, Paul 3-7; O'Connell, Dan 1-1; Powell, James 1-2; Cannon, Darren 0-3), Delaware Valley 9-22 (Isaiah Pinckney 4-10; Eric Lawton 3-5; Bill Gelsomini 1-2; Jason Seipt 1-3; Ryan Thomas 0-2). Fouled out--Scranton-Arnold, Randy, Delaware Valley-Josh Taylor. Rebounds-Scranton 39 (Bicknell, Tom 12), Delaware Valley 25 (Josh Taylor 8). Assists-Scranton 17 (Powell, James 4; Arnold, Randy 4; Biagioli, Paul 4), Delaware Valley 10 (Jason Seipt 3; Eric Lawton 3). Total fouls-Scranton 19, Delaware Valley 27. A-600