SCRANTON, Pa.—Junior forward Brian O’Donnell (Mahopac, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) scored 18 points and pulled down 15 rebounds—both game-highs—and freshman guard Sean Clark (Spring Lake Heights, N.J./St. Rose/Kent-Conn.) added 13 points to lead The University of Scranton to a 64-55 victory over Drew University in Freedom Conference action Saturday afternoon at the John J. Long, S.J., Center.
The Royals snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 4-17 overall and 2-8 in the Freedom Conference despite shooting only 28.1 percent (16 of 57) from the field. Junior guard Brad Greenman (S. Orange, N.J./Newark Academy) led the Rangers, now 5-13 overall and 2-7 in league play, with 12 points and sophomore guard Bernard Buttone (Roselle, N.J./Roselle Catholic) had 10 points, five rebounds and two steals.
O’Donnell, who now has nine ‘double-doubles’ in points and rebounds this year and 26 in his career, scored 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as the Royals shook off an 8-for-35 effort (22.9 percent) to take a 34-29 lead at halftime. The Rangers connected on a respectable 12 of 25 field goal attempts in the opening 20 minutes of play but were guilty of 14 turnovers.
O’Donnell picked up two quick fouls early in the second half and was forced to sit out nearly nine minutes. Despite O’Donnell’s absence, the Royals appeared to have the game in check by building up a 52-42 lead with 5:17 remaining. The Rangers cut the lead to three twice before Clark hit a jumper with 2:03 left to extend Scranton’s lead to five, 56-51. After Drew cut it down to four, 57-53, with less than a minute remaining, Clark hit one of two free throws and junior forward Bill Burke (West Pittston, Pa./Seton Catholic) drained a pair with 46 seconds left to give Scranton a 7-point cushion, 60-53, and end any hopes of a Ranger comeback.
Clark has now scored in double figures in three of his last four games, and his 13-point effort was one shy of tying his season-high of 14 points against Catholic University on November 29. O’Donnell is now 28 points shy of becoming the 34th player in Scranton history to score 1000 career points.
The Royals will take on the Colonels of Wilkes University this Wednesday, February 11, beginning at 8:00 p.m. at the Marts Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Newspaper Box Score Drew University vs University of Scranton 2-7-04 3:20 pm at Long Center, Scranton, Pa. At Long Center, Scranton, Pa. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON 64, DREW UNIVERSITY 55 DREW UNIVERSITY (5-13/2-7 Freedom) Brad Greenman 4-15 2-2 12; Bernard Buttone 4-6 1-2 10; Ian Chester 3-8 0-0 7; Craig Clemente 2-4 2-5 6; Germane Williams 2-3 0-0 4; Nick Elmo 2-4 0-0 4; Kelvin Henry 2-3 0-0 4; Leon Thomas 1-3 1-2 3; Bob Carella 1-3 1-2 3; Peter Boyer 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 22-55 7-13 55. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (4-17/2-8 Freedom) Brian O'Donnell 5-10 8-12 18; Sean Clark 3-11 6-7 13; Bill Burke 1-6 6-6 8; Nick Alfier 2-7 2-2 7; Matthew Snyder 2-8 3-3 7; Michael Riccobono 1-4 4-4 6; Patrick Clabby 1-5 1-2 3; Matt Duardo 1-2 0-0 2; Justin Freid 0-3 0-0 0; Victor Agapay 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-57 30-36 64. Drew University............... 29 26 - 55 University of Scranton........ 34 30 - 64 3-point goals-Drew University 4-14 (Brad Greenman 2-6; Ian Chester 1-2; Bernard Buttone 1-2; Kelvin Henry 0-1; Peter Boyer 0-2; Germane Williams 0-1), University of Scranton 2-25 (Nick Alfier 1-6; Sean Clark 1-7; Matthew Snyder 0-6; Michael Riccobono 0-2; Matt Duardo 0-1; Bill Burke 0-2; Brian O'Donnell 0-1). Fouled out--Drew University-None, University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-Drew University 34 (Peter Boyer 6; Leon Thomas 6), University of Scranton 45 (Brian O'Donnell 15). Assists-Drew University 16 (Ian Chester 5), University of Scranton 9 (Sean Clark 3; Matthew Snyder 3). Total fouls-Drew University 26, University of Scranton 14. A-500