SCRANTON, Pa.—Junior forward Brian O’Donnell (Mahopac, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) scored 14 of his game-high 24 points in the second half as The University of Scranton snapped an 11-game losing streak with an 84-79 victory over Lebanon Valley College in non-conference action Monday evening at the John J. Long, S.J., Center.
Freshman guard Mike McGowan (Lansdale, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) added 14 points, including a crucial 3-pointer late in the second half, and sophomore guard Matt Snyder (Scranton, Pa./Scranton Prep) contributed 13 as the Royals improved to 2-12 overall. Lebanon Valley, which had a six-game winning streak snapped and fell to 10-5 overall, was led by junior guard J.D. Byers (Westminster, Md./Westminster) with 21 points and nine assists and senior guard Evan Harlor (Danville, Pa./Danville) added 19 points.
The game was tied six times before freshman guard Sean Clark (Spring Lake Heights, N.J./St. Rose), who finished with eight points, hit a 3-pointer during an 11-5 run as Scranton took a 78-72 lead with 3:53 remaining. Harlor hit a 3-pointer at the 3:09 mark and Byers added a layup with 1:55 left to cut Scranton’s lead to one, 78-77. McGowan, who scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half, then drained a 3-pointer to give the Royals an 81-77 lead with 1:37 left.
Byers came up with a steal and went the length of the court for a layup to cut the lead to two, 81-79, with 50 seconds remaining. O’Donnell hit one of two free throws with 22 seconds left to make it a 3-point game before Lebanon Valley’s Dave Kasyan (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East), who finished with 10 points, missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it with 12 seconds remaining. Scranton sophomore guard Mike Riccobono (Chester, N.J./Mendham) hit two free throws with six seconds remaining to set the final score.
Senior forward Jeff Kline (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) came off the bench to score 12 points and junior forward Steve Buzinski (West Pittston, Pa./Wyoming Area) had 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Flying Dutchmen, who held a 42-37 edge in rebounding but were guilty of 17 turnovers.
Scranton, which hit 23 of 36 free throw attempts, committed a season-low 12 turnovers in posting its first win since a 98-91 win in overtime against Pitt-Greensburg on Saturday, November 22.
In five games since returning to the Scranton lineup after missing five games due to a broken hand, O’Donnell is averaging 22.2 points and 9.4 rebounds.
The Royals will host King’s College in Freedom Conference action this Wednesday, January 21, beginning at 8:00 p.m. at the Long Center.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON 84, LEBANON VALLEY 79 LEBANON VALLEY (10-5) J.D. Byers 6-16 8-8 21; Evan Harlor 7-13 1-1 19; Jeff Kline 5-7 2-2 12; Dave Kasyan 4-9 2-4 10; Steve Buzinski 4-9 2-4 10; Dan Hogan 1-5 2-4 4; Brad Stigelman 1-1 0-0 2; Jimmy Curran 0-2 1-2 1; Fred Pope 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-63 18-25 79. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (2-12) Brian O'Donnell 7-13 9-14 24; Mike McGowan 5-9 1-2 14; Matthew Snyder 4-10 4-4 13; Sean Clark 3-6 0-1 8; Justin Freid 3-4 0-0 6; Victor Agapay 2-3 1-2 5; Patrick Clabby 1-3 3-3 5; Bill Burke 1-7 3-8 5; Nick Alfier 1-5 0-0 2; Michael Riccobono 0-3 2-2 2; Thomas Gangemi 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-65 23-36 84. Lebanon Valley................ 48 31 - 79 University of Scranton........ 46 38 - 84 3-point goals-Lebanon Valley 5-22 (Evan Harlor 4-10; J.D. Byers 1-7; Dave Kasyan 0-3; Dan Hogan 0-1; Jimmy Curran 0-1), University of Scranton 7-28 (Mike McGowan 3-5; Sean Clark 2-5; Matthew Snyder 1-5; Brian O'Donnell 1-2; Bill Burke 0-2; Nick Alfier 0-4; Michael Riccobono 0-1; Thomas Gangemi 0-2; Patrick Clabby 0-2). Fouled out--Lebanon Valley-None, University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-Lebanon Valley 42 (Steve Buzinski 12), University of Scranton 37 (Brian O'Donnell 8). Assists-Lebanon Valley 20 (J.D. Byers 9), University of Scranton 17 (Michael Riccobono 5). Total fouls-Lebanon Valley 27, University of Scranton 23. A-300