Freshman forward Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif./Loyola) paced four players in double figures with a game-high 21 points as The University of Scranton men's basketball team pulled away from Gwynedd-Mercy for a 79-64 victory in the third-place game of the PNC Bank Royal Rumble on Tuesday afternoon in the Long Center.

Scranton (7-3) snapped a three-game losing streak by shooting 51.9 percent (27-for-52) from the field. Junior guard Michael Barr (North Wales, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) scored 17 points off the bench, junior guard Tommy Morgan (Greenlawn, N.Y./Chaminade) had 16 points and sophomore guard Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights/Blair Academy, N.J.) added 10 in the victory.

The Royals led for most of the first half and carried a 38-32 lead into the break as Barr led the way with nine points on 3-for-4 from 3-point range. Scranton still led by six, 55-49, with 9:44 to play when it went on an 11-2 run to take a 15-point lead with 6:28 remaining. Morgan and Boken each had four points during the spurt.

Gwynedd-Mercy (5-5) never got closer than 10 the rest of the way as Scranton shot 54.2 percent (13-for-24) in the second half. The Royals made 19 of 24 free throws (79.2 percent) for the game, including 14 of 17 in the second half.

Danzig finished with eight rebounds and eight assists, and senior guard Tim Lavelle (Clarks Green, Pa./Scranton Preparatory) added seven points and seven assists in the victory.

Boken, who had seven rebounds in the win, was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 17.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the two games.

Gwynedd-Mercy placed four players in double figures, led by freshman forward Larry Jones III (Woodbine, N.J./Holy Spirit), who had 12. The Griffins won the battle of the boards, 36-32, led by freshman forward Tyler Barnes (New Egypt, N.J./New Egypt), who had 13 boards and was named to the all-tournament team.

Scranton will break for the holidays and return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 2, when it faces King's at 6 p.m. at the Marts Center at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. in the Cross-County Challenge. 

--ROYALS--