Sophomore guard Randy Arnold (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) scored 17 of his 24 points in the first-half and junior guard/forward Darren Cannon (Paupack, Pa./Wallenpaupack Area) scored a season-high 19 points as The University of Scranton overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to defeat Lycoming College, 82-79, in Freedom Conference action Tuesday evening at the John J. Long, S.J., Center.
Sophomore guard Ryan Kirk (Lansdale, Pa./LaSalle College) added 11 points, including four clutch free throws in the final minute of play, as the Royals won their fourth straight game to improve to 18-6 overall and 10-3 in the Freedom Conference. Scranton, which hit 11 3-pointers and committed only 10 turnovers, can finish no worse than second-place in the league. Lycoming, which had a five-game winning streak snapped and fell to 14-10 overall and 8-5 in league play, was led by senior forward Jonathan Pribble (Woolrich, Pa./Central Mountain) with 27 points and 10 rebounds—both game-highs—and senior guard Brad Musser (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) chipped in 14 points and 10 assists.
In a high-scoring first-half, Lycoming, behind 15 points by Pribble, connected on nearly 52 percent of its field goal attempts to carve out a 44-41 lead. Arnold and Cannon combined for 28 of the Royals 41 points as Scranton shot a respectable 45.8 percent from the field, including 63.6 percent (7 of 11) from beyond the 3-point arc.
Pribble scored five points to spark a 12-5 run in the opening five minutes of the second-half as the Warriors built up the first of three 10-point leads with 15:36 left, 56-46. After Pribble gave Lycoming its last 10-point lead with a jump shot with 12:33 left to make it 60-50, freshman guard Ryan FitzPatrick (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) buried back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 17-4 rally that was capped off by back-to-back 3-pointers by Cannon as Scranton took a 3-point lead, 67-64, with 7:15 remaining.
The Royals built up a seven-point lead, 76-69, with 2:34 left before the Warriors fought back behind a 3-pointer by sophomore forward Kevin Morris (Camp Hill, Pa./Trinity) and a traditional 3-point play by Musser to cut the lead to one, 78-77, with 1:04 left.
Kirk then knocked down a pair of free throws with 50 seconds before Lycoming’s Grey Sye answered with a lay-up with 10 seconds remaining to make it a one-point game again, 80-79. Kirk was fouled with five seconds remaining and hit both free throws to set the final score. On Lycoming’s final possession, Pribble drove the length of the court and attempted a 3-pointer that was off the mark as the buzzer sounded.
Lycoming will close out its regular-season at home on Saturday, February 18, against Delaware Valley, while the Royals will host DeSales University beginning at 3:00 p.m. in the Long Center.
LYCOMING (14-10/8-5 Freedom) Jonathan Pribble 10-19 3-4 27; Brad Musser 4-8 4-4 14; Greg Sye 5-8 0-0 10; Jemayne Nowlin 3-6 0-0 9; Kevin Morris 2-6 3-5 8; Patrick Baylor 2-4 0-0 5; Dave Wilson 2-3 0-0 4; Matt Clemons 0-0 1-2 1; Matt McGair 0-1 1-3 1; Shawn Harper 0-0 0-0 0; Brandon Wilkinson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-55 12-18 79. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (18-6/10-3 Freedom) Randy Arnold 6-16 9-10 24; Darren Cannon 7-10 0-0 19; Ryan Kirk 2-6 6-6 11; Bill Burke 3-3 3-5 9; Tom Bicknell 4-7 1-4 9; Ryan FitzPatrick 2-4 2-2 8; Michael Riccobono 0-0 2-2 2; Mike Kreuter 0-3 0-2 0; Nick Alfier 0-1 0-0 0; James Powell 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 24-51 23-32 82. Lycoming...................... 44 35 - 79 The University of Scranton.... 41 41 - 82 3-point goals-Lycoming 11-27 (Jonathan Pribble 4-11; Jemayne Nowlin 3-5; Brad Musser 2-4; Patrick Baylor 1-2; Kevin Morris 1-4; Dave Wilson 0-1), The University of Scranton 11-20 (Darren Cannon 5-6; Randy Arnold 3-6; Ryan FitzPatrick 2-3; Ryan Kirk 1-5). Fouled out--Lycoming-None, The University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-Lycoming 33 (Jonathan Pribble 10), The University of Scranton 28 (James Powell 6; Bill Burke 6). Assists-Lycoming 20 (Brad Musser 10), The University of Scranton 15 (Randy Arnold 5). Total fouls-Lycoming 23, The University of Scranton 18. A-800