Sophomore guards Ryan Kirk (Lansdale, Pa./LaSalle College) and Randy Arnold (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) combined for 22 points and sophomore center Tom Bicknell (Melbourne, Australia/St. Bede’s College) contributed eight points and a career-high 15 rebounds to lead The University of Scranton to a 51-47 victory over Curry College (Mass.) in the 3rd-place game of the Radisson Invitational Sunday afternoon at the John J. Long, S.J., Center.
Senior forward Michael Mohrin (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) led Curry, now 3-6, with 12 points, all-tournament selection and senior center Raheim Lamb (Roxbury, Mass./Boston English) had 11 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals, and junior guard Stephen Prescod (Milton, Mass./Lexington Christian) chipped in 10 points.
Both teams had trouble finding the range coming out of the gates. Scranton shot only 33.3 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play, but nine points by Kirk—all on three pointers—and six by Arnold helped the Royals build up a 28-23 lead by intermission. Lamb scored seven points for Curry, which shot only 34.6 percent from the field in the first-half.
The game was tied twice in the second-half before Kirk gave the Royals the lead for good by connecting on his fourth 3-pointer of the game with 8:05 remaining, 41-38. Scranton extended its lead to six, 46-40, on a traditional 3-point play by freshman forward Brendan Fuller (Alexandria, Va./Bishop Ireton) that capped off a 5-2 run with 4:13 left.
Curry scored five straight points on a layup by Mohrin and three free throws by Prescod to cut the lead to one, 46-45, with 2:18 remaining. After each team failed to score on their next possessions, Scranton sophomore guard James Powell (Miami, Fla./Palmetto) hit a jump shot in the lane with 50 seconds remaining, then canned two free throws left after being fouled on a rebound off a Curry miss to give the Royals a 50-45 lead. Bicknell, who was named to the all-tournament team, hit one of two free throws with 12 seconds left and Mohrin converted a layup for Curry in the final seconds of play to set the final score.
The Royals’ injury problems continued Sunday afternoon. Senior reserve point-guard Michael Riccobono (Chester, N.J./Mendham) suffered a wrist injury in yesterday’s 76-64 loss to Chestnut Hill and joined starters Patrick Clabby (shoulder), Ryan Fitzpatrick (foot injury), and Darren Cannon (flu) and key reserve Mike McGowan (foot injury) on the sidelines. Reserve center Mike Kreuter (Penllyn, Pa./Shipley) suffered an ankle injury, returned to the lineup briefly, but sat out the entire second-half.
Scranton will take on the Colonels of Wilkes University in Freedom Conference action this Wednesday, January 11, at the Marts Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, beginning at 8:00 p.m.
CURRY COLLEGE (MASS.) (3-6) Michael Mohrin 5-11 2-3 12; Raheim Lamb 5-7 1-4 11; Stephen Prescod 3-10 3-4 10; Deryk Largesse 3-9 0-0 8; Marcus Jones 0-6 4-4 4; James Bartelle 1-8 0-0 2; Marvin Lamarre 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-52 10-15 47. THE UNIVERSITY OF SCRANTON (9-3) Ryan Kirk 4-10 0-0 12; Randy Arnold 4-18 2-2 10; Tom Bicknell 3-5 2-4 8; James Powell 3-5 2-2 8; Brendan Fuller 1-2 1-1 3; Mike Kreuter 0-0 3-6 3; Paul Hawk 0-3 2-2 2; Paul Biagioli 1-6 0-0 2; Nick Alfier 1-2 0-0 2; Bill Burke 0-4 1-2 1. Totals 17-55 13-19 51. Curry College (Mass.)......... 23 24 - 47 The University of Scranton.... 28 23 - 51 3-point goals-Curry College (Mass.) 3-21 (Deryk Largesse 2-7; Stephen Prescod 1-4; Marcus Jones 0-3; James Bartelle 0-5; Michael Mohrin 0-2), The University of Scranton 4-17 (Ryan Kirk 4-8; Randy Arnold 0-5; Brendan Fuller 0-1; Paul Hawk 0-1; Paul Biagioli 0-1; Nick Alfier 0-1). Fouled out—Curry College (Mass.)-Raheim Lamb, The University of Scranton-None. Rebounds-Curry College (Mass.) 33 (Marcus Jones 6; Marvin Lamarre 6; Raheim Lamb 6), The University of Scranton 46 (Tom Bicknell 15). Assists-Curry College (Mass.) 9 (Michael Mohrin 4; Marcus Jones 4), The University of Scranton 5 (Randy Arnold 3). Total fouls-Curry College (Mass.) 18, The University of Scranton 14. A-175