LYCOMING MEN’S BASKETBALL STUNNED BY SCRANTON

SCRANTON, PA – The Lycoming College men’s basketball team traveled to the University of Scranton, Tuesday evening, looking to secure home court advantage throughout the Freedom Conference playoffs. Instead, the Warriors were outscored 48-20 in the second half as the Royals won going away, 83-54. Lycoming falls to 15-9 overall and 10-3 in the conference. Scranton improves to 19-5 and 10-3 to move into a tie for first place with the Warriors.

The first half was a back-and-forth clinic on contrasting offensive attacks. Lycoming pounded the ball inside to Matt Stackhouse (Jr./Hughesville, PA; Hughesville) and L.J. Huggler (Jr./St. Marys, PA; St. Marys) to score 24 of their 34 first-half points from the paint. The Royals on the other hand kept themselves in the game via the three-pointer. Ryan Rogan, Brian O’Donnell, and Jeff Kane each hit two shots from behind the arc as Scranton made 6-of-9 three-point attempts in the first half. But with nine lead changes and two tied scores the game remained either team’s as the Royals clung to a 35-34 lead at the half.

The second half, however, proved to be a whole different ball game. After Stackhouse opened the period with a jump shot to give the Warriors what would be their final lead, Scranton went on 14-2 run over the next five minutes that gave them an 11-point lead. The onslaught continued as the Royals outscored Lycoming 16-1 over the second five minutes of the half to build an insurmountable 26-point advantage.

Scranton shot 59% from the field in the second half and 55% from three-point range for the game. The Warriors hit just 27% of their second-half shots and made just three triples in 19 attempts. Stackhouse was Lycoming’s top performer with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jonathan Pribble (Fr./Woolrich, PA; Central Mountain) added nine points and Huggler chipped in eight markers. Tommy Wesner (Sr./Dillsburg, PA; Northern) led the team with five assists but was held to just six points.

The Royals placed five players in double figures led by Rogan’s 21. O’Donnll tallied 16, Dan Loftus 15, Derek Elphick 13, and Kane 10.

The Warriors wrap up the regular season on Saturday, February 22, when they travel to DeSales University. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. Despite Lycoming’s loss to Scranton, the Warriors can still clinch home court advantage for the conference tournament with a win on Saturday.