Sophomore center Tom Bicknell (Melbourne, Australia) scored a career-high 20 points and pulled down 14 rebounds and sophomore guard Randy Arnold (Doylestown, Pa.) tossed in 20 points to lead The University of Scranton to a 77-52 victory over FDU-Florham in Freedom Conference action Saturday afternoon at the John J. Long, S.J., Center.
The Royals also got a big lift from junior center Mike Kreuter (Penllyn, Pa.), who came off the bench to tie his career-high with 12 points, including 10 in the second-half as the Royals broke away from a five-point halftime lead to improve to 15-6 overall and 7-3 in the Freedom Conference. Junior guard Frankie Emslie (Hazlet, N.J.) led the Devils, now 5-16 overall and 2-8 in league play, with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists and junior forward Pierre Schmitt (Park Ridge, N.J.) added 13 points.
Arnold and Bicknell combined for 20 first-half points as the Royals settled for a 32-27 lead, despite shooting only 37 percent from the field and committing 10 turnovers. The Devils also had trouble finding the mark in the first-half and connected on only 9 of 25 field goal attempts (36.0 percent).
Schmitt scored four points—all on free throws—and Emslie drained a 3-pointer during a 9-0 spurt in the first three minutes of the second-half as the Devils built up a four-point lead, 36-32. There were four lead changes and two ties over the next five minutes until Scranton, sparked by a traditional 3-point play by Kreuter, went on a 12-1 run over a two-minute span to take a 55-44 lead with 10:08 left. Back-to-back lay-ups by James McLendon (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) and Emslie cut the margin to seven, 55-48, with 8:55 left before the Royals put the game out of reach with an 11-1 spurt that push its lead to 17, 66-49, with 4:34 remaining. Kreuter hit back-to-back lay-ups during the deciding run. The final score was the largest margin of the game.
Bicknell’s ‘double-double’ was his fourth of the season, and his 20-point performance eclipsed his previous high of 14 points on three other occasions. Kreuter’s 12 points equaled his previous best of 12 points against Delaware Valley on February 19, 2005.
Scranton moves into a tie with Wilkes University, which lost at Delaware Valley College Saturday afternoon, for second-place in the Freedom Conference, one game behind King’s College, which moved into first-place with an 80-58 victory at DeSales. The Royals will host Wilkes University this Wednesday, February 8, beginning at 8:00 p.m. at the Long Center.
FDU-FLORHAM (5-16/2-8 Freedom) Frank Emslie 5-12 3-4 16; Pierre Schmitt 3-6 6-8 13; Brian Dillon 4-4 0-1 9; James McClendon 3-5 0-0 6; Cody Chalmers 1-5 0-0 3; Milton LaCroix 0-1 2-2 2; Brian Rimol 1-3 0-0 2; Matt Cushing 0-7 1-2 1; Carl Benning 0-0 0-0 0; Ryan McPherson 0-4 0-0 0; Nick Shaw 0-3 0-0 0; Andrew Biancosino 0-4 0-0 0; Vince Crow 0-1 0-0 0; Jack Aversa 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-55 12-17 52. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (15-6/7-3 Freedom) Tom Bicknell 8-17 4-8 20; Randy Arnold 5-13 9-11 20; Mike Kreuter 4-5 4-5 12; Ryan Kirk 2-9 1-1 6; Bill Burke 2-4 1-1 5; Darren Cannon 1-3 2-4 5; Paul Biagioli 1-2 2-3 4; Nick Alfier 1-5 0-0 3; James Powell 1-2 0-0 2; Brendan Fuller 0-0 0-0 0; Michael Riccobono 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-62 23-33 77. FDU-Florham................... 27 25 - 52 The University of Scranton.... 32 45 - 77 3-point goals-FDU-Florham 6-20 (Frank Emslie 3-9; Pierre Schmitt 1-1; Brian Dillon 1-1; Cody Chalmers 1-3; Matt Cushing 0-2; Ryan McPherson 0-2; Andrew Biancosino 0-1; Vince Crow 0-1), The University of Scranton 4-15 (Darren Cannon 1-3; Randy Arnold 1-2; Nick Alfier 1-4; Ryan Kirk 1-5; Michael Riccobono 0-1). Fouled out--FDU-Florham-Andrew Biancosino, The University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-FDU-Florham 33 (Frank Emslie 5), The University of Scranton 48 (Tom Bicknell 14). Assists-FDU-Florham 12 (Brian Dillon 4; Frank Emslie 4), The University of Scranton 13 (James Powell 4). Total fouls-FDU-Florham 27, The University of Scranton 18. A-900