Sophomore guard Ryan FitzPatrick (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) added 12 points as the Royals won their third straight game to improve to 13-3 overall and remain in a first-place tie in conference play with a 4-1 mark. Junior guard Matt Gould (Brodheadsville, Pa./Pleasant Valley) led Wilkes, now 9-5 overall and 1-4 in the Freedom Conference, with 10 points and senior forward Dan Adams (Muncy, Pa./Hughesville) added nine points and four rebounds.
Arnold dominated play in the first-half by connecting on five of six shots from the field and finishing with 16 points as Scranton build up a 41-24 advantage by intermission. He scored 10 points during a 19-2 spurt over an 8-minute span as the Royals extended a 16-15 lead into a 35-17 margin.
Scranton, which also received nine points from FitzPatrick and seven from sophomore forward Paul Biagioli (Waverly, Pa./Abington Heights), shot 56.5 percent in the opening 20 minutes of play. Gould had seven points and two assists in the first-half for Wilkes, which shot only 34.5 percent from the field in the first-half and 32.7 percent for the game.
Bicknell took over early in the second-half by scoring 10 points during a 14-5 spurt to extend Scranton’s lead to 26, 55-29, with 14:38 remaining. He scored 16 of his career-tying 20 points in the second-half and tied another career mark by finishing with a game-high 17 rebounds. Bicknell’s ‘double-double’ was his fifth of the season and the 12th of his career.
The Royals, who connected on 51.0 percent of their field goal attempts, have now shot at least 48 percent from the field in five of their last six games.
Scranton will close out a two-game Freedom Conference home stand this Saturday, January 20, against DeSales University, which entered Wednesday’s game in a four-way tie with the Royals for first-place in the league, beginning at 3:00 p.m. at the Long Center.
WILKES (9-5/1-4 Freedom) Matt Gould 4-11 0-0 10; Dan Adams 4-4 1-2 9; Anthony Gabriel 3-7 2-4 8; John Kelly 2-6 0-0 5; Chris Gulla 1-6 2-3 4; Tom Kresge 0-4 4-4 4; Steve Kline 2-8 0-3 4; Jeremy Kable 1-5 0-0 3; Andrew Durako 0-0 0-0 0; John DeFeo 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-52 9-16 47. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (13-3/4-1 Freedom) Arnold, Randy 7-10 4-4 20; Bicknell, Tom 7-8 6-6 20; FitzPatrick, Ryan 4-9 2-2 12; Biagioli, Paul 3-9 3-5 9; O'Connell, Dan 2-4 0-1 5; Powell, James 1-3 0-0 2; Londo, Eli 1-2 0-0 2; Hawk, Paul 0-1 0-0 0; Fuller, Brendan 0-0 0-0 0; Cannon, Darren 0-3 0-0 0; Alfier, Joe 0-0 0-0 0; Osborne, Chris 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-49 15-18 70. Wilkes........................ 24 23 - 47 The University of Scranton........ 41 29 - 70 3-point goals-Wilkes 4-16 (Matt Gould 2-4; John Kelly 1-3; Jeremy Kable 1-5; Chris Gulla 0-1; Tom Kresge 0-2; Steve Kline 0-1), University of Scranton 5-17 (FitzPatrick, Ryan 2-4; Arnold, Randy 2-3; O'Connell, Dan 1-2; Powell, James 0-2; Hawk, Paul 0-1; Cannon, Darren 0-3; Biagioli, Paul 0-2). Fouled out--Wilkes-None, University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-Wilkes 22 (Steve Kline 6), University of Scranton 41 (Bicknell, Tom 17). Assists-Wilkes 10 (Matt Gould 4), University of Scranton 13 (Arnold, Randy 3; Hawk, Paul 3; Cannon, Darren 3). Total fouls-Wilkes 17, University of Scranton 19. A-750