Royals Rally To Reach Landmark Championship
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The University of Scranton battled back from a 10-point deficit late in the second-half to defeat Moravian College, 79-78, in the semifinals of the Landmark Conference tournament Wednesday evening at Johnston Hall.
Freshman guard Zach Ashworth (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) scored 13 of his 20 points in the second-half and senior center Tom Bicknell (Melbourne, Australia/St. Bede's College) finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds as the Royals won their fourth straight game and 11th in their last 13 to improve to 18-8. Scranton also got a break big Wednesday when fourth-seeded Juniata downed regular-season champion Susquehanna, 77-49, in the other semifinal. The Royals, being the higher seed, will host the Eagles on Saturday, March 1, at the Long Center for the Landmark Conference championship at a time to be announced Thursday.
Moravian, which lost its last three games to fall to 18-8, was led by senior forward Chris Earley (Brielle, N.J./Manasquan) with a game-high 22 points and senior forward Mark Franzyshen (Somerset, N.J./Immaculata) added 17 points.
The Greyhounds shot over 55 percent from the field to squeeze out a 37-34 lead by intermission and looked to be in the driver's seat by building up a 10-point lead, 68-58, with 6:27 left. Ashworth then scored six points as Scranton cut the lead down to five, 70-65, with 4:04 remaining.
After a pair of free throws by Moravian's Maurice Young (Philadelphia, Pa./Chestnut Hill Academy) pushed the lead back up to seven, Scranton counted with a lay-up by Ashworth, two free throws by Bicknell, a lay-up by junior guard Ryan FitzPatrick (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga), and another lay-up by senior guard Randy Arnold (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) to take its first lead of the game, 73-72, with 1:34 left.
Moravian, which turned the ball over three times in the final four minutes and 18 times for the game, committed a costly turnover with 1:29 remaining and Scranton answered with two free throws by Bicknell with 1:19 left to extend the lead to three. On their next possession, Greyhound senior guard Ryan Miller (Easton, Pa./Easton) buried a 3-pointer to tie the game for the last time, 75-75, with 53 seconds remaining.
The Royals took the lead for good on a lay-up by junior forward Paul Biagioli (Waverly, Pa./Abington Heights) with 25 seconds left and after Miller missed a 3-pointer, Arnold drained two free throws with two seconds remaining to give Scranton a four-point lead. Franzyshen hit a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to set the final score.
Biagioli finished with 14 points and FitzPatrick 10 for Scranton, which shot 51.9 percent in the second-half and 50 percent for the game. Scranton is now 12-0 this year when it shoots 50 percent-or-better from the field. Bicknell's ‘double-double' was his 14th of the season and the 31st of his career.
Scranton and Juniata split their regular-season games this year; the Eagles defeated the Royals, 84-69, in Huntingdon on January 12, while Scranton downed Juniata, 84-61, on February 1 at the Long Center.
The Royals have won 17 titles in its previous affiliation with the Middle Atlantic/Freedom Conference, including two (2003, 2006) under current head coach Carl Danzig.