Junior guard Darren Cannon (Paupack, Pa./Wallenpaupack Area) scored a season-high 15 points to lead The University of Scranton to a 65-52 victory over Wilkes University in Freedom Conference action Wednesday evening at the John J. Long, S.J., Center.
Sophomore center Tom Bicknell (Melbourne, Australia/St. Bede’s College) added 12 points and 10 rebounds—his fifth ‘double-double’ of the season—and senior forward Bill Burke (West Pittston, Pa./Seton Catholic) came off the bench to contribute 12 points and six rebounds as the Royals won their second straight game to improve to 16-6 overall and move into a tie for first-place with King’s College, which lost at Lycoming Wednesday evening, 76-71, in league play with an 8-3 mark. Senior guard Mike Constantine (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) led Wilkes, which lost its fourth straight game to fall to 11-8 overall and 7-4 in the Freedom Conference, with 15 points and freshman forward Steve Line (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) had 10 points and eight rebounds.
In a first-half in which both teams were guilty of 11 turnovers apiece, the Royals scratched out a three-point advantage at halftime behind nine points by sophomore guard Ryan Kirk (Lansdale, Pa./LaSalle College) and eight by Bicknell. Constantine connected on four 3-pointers to finish with 13 first-half points as the Colonels shot 52.2 percent from the field.
With the Royals leading by two, 40-38, with 13:54 remaining, Cannon sparked a 14-4 run by draining two 3-pointers and a free throw during a six-minute span to give Scranton a 54-42 lead with 7:52 left. The Colonels closed to within nine, 54-45, with 6:03 left before the Royals scored the next eight points, including six from the free throw line, to extend the lead to 17, 62-45, with less than two minutes remaining. Scranton’s largest lead was 18.
The Colonels, who played without leading scorer Chris Shovlin, who sat out a one-game suspension for violating a team rule, shot only 22.2 percent from the field in the second-half to finish 35.2 percent for the game. Wilkes head coach Jerry Rickrode did not attend the game due to an illness.
Cannon’s previous season-high of 12 points came on three different occasions.
The Royals will take on the Aggies of Delaware Valley College this Saturday, February 11, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, beginning at 3:00 p.m.
WILKES UNIVERSITY (11-8/7-4 Freedom) Mike Constantine 5-15 1-1 15; Steve Kline 5-14 0-0 10; Jeremy Kable 3-9 0-0 8; Evan Walters 2-6 3-6 7; John Sclafani 1-3 2-2 5; Matt Gould 1-1 1-2 3; Dan Adams 1-2 0-0 2; Andrew Durako 1-1 0-0 2; Tyler Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0; David Goode 0-0 0-0 0; Drew Amoroso 0-1 0-0 0; Greg Cardamone 0-2 0-2 0; Keith Bradley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-54 7-13 52. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (16-6/8-3 Freedom) Darren Cannon 4-9 3-4 15; Tom Bicknell 5-7 2-2 12; Bill Burke 2-2 8-12 12; Ryan Kirk 3-10 0-0 9; Randy Arnold 2-9 1-2 6; Mike Kreuter 2-3 0-1 4; James Powell 1-5 2-6 4; Nick Alfier 1-2 0-0 3; Brendan Fuller 0-0 0-0 0; Michael Riccobono 0-0 0-0 0; Paul Biagioli 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-49 16-27 65. Wilkes University............. 33 19 - 52 The University of Scranton.... 36 29 - 65 3-point goals-Wilkes University 7-24 (Mike Constantine 4-13; Jeremy Kable 2-6; John Sclafani 1-3; Drew Amoroso 0-1; Steve Kline 0-1), The University of Scranton 9-24 (Darren Cannon 4-8; Ryan Kirk 3-7; Randy Arnold 1-4; Nick Alfier 1-2; James Powell 0-1; Paul Biagioli 0-2). Fouled out—Wilkes University-Matt Gould, The University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-Wilkes University 35 (Steve Kline 8), The University of Scranton 35 (Tom Bicknell 10). Assists-Wilkes University 15 (John Sclafani 3; Jeremy Kable 3; Mike Constantine 3), The University of Scranton 15 (Randy Arnold 5). Total fouls-Wilkes University 23, The University of Scranton 17. A-1400