Junior guard Randy Arnold (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) chipped in 15 points and handed out six assists and sophomore guard Ryan FitzPatrick (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) added 10 points as Scranton improved to 16-3 overall and 7-1 in the Freedom Conference. Junior guard Chris Lopez (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) paced the Rangers, now 7-11 overall and 2-6 in league play, with a game-high 22 points.
Bicknell used his size advantage to score 16 points and pull down nine rebounds in the first-half as the Royals squeezed out a 34-32 lead by intermission. Lopez led the hot-shooting Rangers with 11 first-half points as Drew knocked down 11 of 22 field goal attempts (50 percent) in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Tied 34-34 early in the second-half, Arnold started a 15-5 rally with four straight free throws and Biagioli knocked down a pair of 3-pointers during the run as Scranton took its first double-digit lead, 49-39, with 10:56 left. Lopez brought the Rangers back by draining back-to-back 3-pointers during a four-minute span as Drew closed to four, 51-47, with 6:42 left. The Rangers, however, scored only four points the rest of the way.
Junior guard James Powell (Miami, Fla./Palmiotto) ignited a 12-1 run with a lay-up off a give-and-go from Bicknell and Biagioli hit two more 3-pointers during the rally as Scranton extended its lead to 15, 63-48.
Biagioli’s 17-point effort was one shy of his career-high of 18 points in a 71-49 victory over The College of New Jersey on December 4, 2006, at the Long Center. Bicknell has now posted ‘double-doubles’ in each of his last four games, eight for the season and 15 for his career.
The Royals, now in sole possession of first-place in the Freedom Conference after Delaware Valley upset King’s College Saturday afternoon, will host King’s College this Wednesday, January 31, beginning at 8:00 p.m. at the Long Center.
DREW (7-11/2-6 Freedom) Chris Lopez 6-14 5-6 22; Gerard Mullin 3-10 0-0 7; Bob Carella 2-6 0-0 5; David Cramer 2-4 0-2 4; Scott Miller 2-2 0-1 4; Bill Marano 1-1 0-0 3; Damon DiLorenzo 1-1 1-6 3; Ryan Eisner 1-2 1-3 3; Bobby Clackner 0-0 0-0 0; Jared Coleman 0-0 0-0 0; Dave Pepperman 0-0 0-0 0; Kevin Codey 0-1 0-0 0; Phil Herro 0-0 0-0 0; Steve Natoli 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-41 7-18 51. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (16-3/7-1 Freedom) Biagioli, Paul 7-12 0-0 17; Bicknell, Tom 5-8 6-6 16; Arnold, Randy 2-7 11-12 15; FitzPatrick, Ryan 3-11 2-2 10; Powell, James 2-4 0-0 4; Cannon, Darren 1-3 0-0 3; Fuller, Brendan 0-0 0-0 0; Hawk, Paul 0-3 0-4 0; O'Connell, Dan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-49 19-24 65. Drew.......................... 32 19 - 51 The University of Scranton........ 34 31 - 65 3-point goals-Drew 8-19 (Chris Lopez 5-11; Gerard Mullin 1-5; Bill Marano 1-1; Bob Carella 1-1; Kevin Codey 0-1), University of Scranton 6-21 (Biagioli, Paul 3-4; FitzPatrick, Ryan 2-7; Cannon, Darren 1-3; Powell, James 0-1; Hawk, Paul 0-3; Arnold, Randy 0-3). Fouled out--Drew-None, University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-Drew 24 (David Cramer 6), University of Scranton 35 (Bicknell, Tom 11). Assists-Drew 15 (Chris Lopez 4), University of Scranton 12 (Arnold, Randy 6). Total fouls-Drew 20, University of Scranton 14. A-600