Senior forward Brian O’Donnell (Mahopac, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) had 18 points and 13 rebounds—both game-highs—and sophomore guard Darren Cannon (Paupaupack, Pa./Wallenpaupack Area) contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists to earn all-tournament honors for Scranton, now 1-1. Jon Connor led the Blue Jays, now 2-0, with 14 points and tournament most valuable player (MVP) Kyle Conrad and Dan Keane added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
“I’m trilled with the effort our kids gave today,” said Scranton head coach Carl Danzig. “It’s a good sign that the kids didn’t quit. We were in a position to win the game, but didn’t execute as well as we should have down the stretch.”
Sophomore guard Mike McGowan (Lansdale, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) was largely responsible for the Royal rally. He scored nine of his 11 points during a 15-3 run over a six-minute span that wiped away an 11-point Blue Jay lead and gave Scranton a 57-56 lead with two minutes remaining. The Royals then committed a costly turnover and missed their next two field goal attempts, while Elizabethtown countered with a layup by Keane and two free throws by Connor to regain the lead, 60-57, with 27 seconds remaining.
After Cannon missed a 3-pointer, Greg Adams knocked down two free throws to give the Blue Jays a five-point lead before Scranton freshman guard Randy Arnold (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) hit a jump shot and a layup at the buzzer to set the final score. Arnold finished with seven points, three rebounds, six assists and a steal.
The Royals had trouble finding the mark in the first-half and connected on only 9 of 25 field goal attempts (36 percent) to fall behind 31-22 at intermission. An 8-3 run early in the second half extended Elizabethtown’s lead to 14, 39-25, before O’Donnell, who scored eight second-half points, and McGowan brought Scranton back. Scranton shot 46.7 percent in the second-half to finish 41.8 percent for the game.
O’Donnell’s ‘double-double’ was his second of the season and the 31st of his career. Scranton will host Catholic University next Saturday, November 27, beginning at 4:00 p.m. at the John J. Long, S.J., Center.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (1-1) Brian O'Donnell 6-13 6-7 18; Darren Cannon 4-13 0-1 12; Mike McGowan 4-10 1-1 11; Randy Arnold 3-6 0-0 7; Bill Burke 3-7 0-2 6; Patrick Clabby 2-3 0-0 4; Matthew Snyder 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 23-55 7-11 61. ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE (2-0) Jon Connor 4-9 3-4 14; Kyle Conrad 5-11 1-2 12; Dan Keane 5-6 0-0 10; Andrew Flynn 4-7 0-0 9; Greg Adams 2-9 2-2 6; Alex Rakow 1-2 0-0 3; Brian Goodwin 1-1 0-0 3; Brian Schreiber 1-3 1-2 3; Ben Tannous 1-1 0-0 3; Cameron Norris 0-2 0-0 0; Chris D'Emilio 0-1 0-0 0; Luke Ledyard 0-1 0-0 0; Greg Brizek 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-55 7-10 63. The University of Scranton........ 22 39 - 61 Elizabethtown College......... 31 32 - 63 3-point goals-University of Scranton 8-27 (Darren Cannon 4-11; Mike McGowan 2-7; Matthew Snyder 1-3; Randy Arnold 1-3; Patrick Clabby 0-1; Bill Burke 0-1; Brian O'Donnell 0-1), Elizabethtown College 8-19 (Jon Connor 3-7; Alex Rakow 1-1; Kyle Conrad 1-3; Ben Tannous 1-1; Andrew Flynn 1-1; Brian Goodwin 1-1; Chris D'Emilio 0-1; Greg Brizek 0-2; Greg Adams 0-2). Fouled out--University of Scranton-None, Elizabethtown College-None. Rebounds-University of Scranton 35 (Brian O'Donnell 13), Elizabethtown College 33 (Andrew Flynn 9). Assists-University of Scranton 14 (Randy Arnold 6), Elizabethtown College 16 (Greg Adams 6). Total fouls-University of Scranton 15, Elizabethtown College 15.