LANCASTER, Pa.—A slow start came back to haunt The University of Scranton in a 79-68 loss to Franklin & Marshall in the semifinals of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Southern Region championships Friday evening at the Mayser Center.
The Royals fell behind 9-0 early and trailed by 21 at intermission, 42-21, before staging a late second-half rally that cut the lead the nine, but the Diplomats held on to move into Saturday’s championship game against the winner of Catholic University and Carnegie Mellon.
Senior forward Brian O’Donnel led Scranton, which ended the season with a 20-7 record, with 20 points and eight rebounds and sophomore forward Patrick Clabby added 13 points, one shy of his career-high. Freshman point-guard Randy Arnold chipped in 10 points and seldom-used guard James Powell came off the bench to provide a big lift for the Royals with a season-high eight points. Scranton, however, dug itself an early hole by shooting only 34.8 percent from the field in the first half and finished 38.6 percent for the game. The Royals were also guilty of 18 turnovers.
Brandon Smith led Franklin & Marshall, 22-7, with 22 points and 11 rebounds, Danny Lynch had 21 points and eight rebounds and Logan Outerbridge chipped in 10 points. The Diplomats connected on 52.2 percent of their field goal attempts and took advantage of the free throw line by connecting on 28 of 40 attempts as Scranton was forced to foul to an attempt to play catch-up.
O’Donnell ends his career ranked in the following all-time statistical categories at Scranton: rebounding (2nd, 964), scoring (14th, 1532 points), free throws attempted (1st, 697) and free throws made (1st, 508).
The Royals reached the 20-win plateau for the 17th time and posted their 56th winning season in school history. Scranton also finished with a plus 14-game turnaround after going 5-20 last year.
SCRANTON (20-7) Brian O'Donnell 7-15 5-6 20; Patrick Clabby 5-7 2-6 13; Randy Arnold 3-10 3-6 10; Ryan Kirk 3-7 0-0 9; James Powell 1-1 6-6 8; Mike Kreuter 2-8 0-1 4; Mike McGowan 1-4 0-0 2; Bill Burke 0-1 0-2 0; Nick Alfier 0-3 0-0 0; Michael Riccobono 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-57 18-29 68. FRANKLIN & MARSHALL (22-7) Brandon Smith 8-14 6-9 22; Danny Lynch 7-10 7-8 21; Logan Outerbridge 3-6 2-2 10; Brandon Chasen 1-3 5-6 8; Jackiem Wright 1-3 5-6 7; Bryan Teschke 2-7 0-2 4; Joshua Fogg 1-1 2-2 4; Adam Leonard 1-2 1-5 3. Totals 24-46 28-40 79. Scranton...................... 21 47 - 68 Franklin & Marshall........... 42 37 - 79 3-point goals-Scranton 6-18 (Ryan Kirk 3-7; Brian O'Donnell 1-2; Randy Arnold 1-4; Patrick Clabby 1-1; Bill Burke 0-1; Nick Alfier 0-1; Michael Riccobono 0-1; Mike McGowan 0-1), Franklin & Marshall 3-11 (Logan Outerbridge 2-4; Brandon Chasen 1-3; Jackiem Wright 0-2; Brandon Smith 0-2). Fouled out--Scranton-Randy Arnold; Patrick Clabby, Franklin & Marshall-None. Rebounds-Scranton 33 (Brian O'Donnell 8), Franklin & Marshall 35 (Brandon Smith 11). Assists-Scranton 8 (Ryan Kirk 3), Franklin & Marshall 10 (Brandon Smith 5). Total fouls-Scranton 29, Franklin & Marshall 24. A-442