(To view the entire press release on the Royals' championship game victory, click here.)

SCRANTON, Pa.—Senior guard Luke Hawk (Audubon/Methacton) scored 10 of his game-high 17 points in the second half as The University of Scranton held off a late rally to defeat Eastern University, 73-69, in the championship game of the PNC Bank Classic Monday afternoon at the Long Center.

Senior guard Zach Ashworth (Doylestown/Central Bucks West) added 16 points and six rebounds, all-tournament selection and sophomore guard Travis Farrell (Middletown, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) finished with 13 points and four rebounds, and junior forward Matt Swaback (Kingston/Wyoming Seminary) chipped in 11 points as the Royals won their sixth straight game to improve to 8-2.

Senior forward Dan Miller (Lehighto), who earned all-tournament honors, led the Eagles, now 8-2, with 16 points and nine rebounds and junior guard Collin Whipple (Williamstown, N.J.) had 16 points, five rebounds, and two assists.

In the third-place game, senior guard Rodney Freeney (Piscataway, N.J.) scored 20 points on 9 of 13 shooting from the field as Montclair State University cruised to an 87-52 victory over Cazenovia College.  Senior forward Tyrone Prewitt (Trenton, N.J.) came off the bench and knocked down 7 of 11 shots from the field to finish with 14 points and 10 rebounds and All-tournament selection and sophomore guard Brendan Holland (Briarcliff, N.J.) chipped in 12 points as the Red Hawks, now 11-2, shot 60 percent from the field in the first half to open up a 52-26 lead. 

Junior guard Ryan Hodownes (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) and freshman guard Dieter Clauess (Buffalo, N.Y.) paced the Wildcats, 1-8, with eight points apiece.

Defensively, the Royals may have produced their best effort of the season in building up a 38-29 halftime lead.  Scranton limited the Eagles to less than 28 percent shooting from the field and ended the stanza on a 17-8 run to take a lead it never relinquished.   Eastern, however, got the Royals into foul trouble by consistently attacking the basket and stayed within contention by draining 11 of 12 free throws.

Ashworth hit back-to-back lay-ups midway through the second half to ignite a 13-6 spurt to give Scranton’s its largest lead, 60-46, with 8:34 remaining before Miller brought the Eagles storming back.  He scored eight points during a 16-5 spurt that whittled Scranton’s lead down to one, 65-64, with 2:03 left.

Hawk then drained 3 of 4 free throws and the Eagles missed a 3-pointer and a lay-up on their next two possessions as Scranton pushed its margin back up to four points, 68-64, with 43 seconds remaining.  Ashworth and Swaback sandwiched a pair of free throws around a lay-up by Eastern junior guard Martin Soaries (South Brunswick, N.J.) to make it a six-point advantage with 16 seconds left.  Soaries then buried a 3-pointer before Swaback made one of two free throws to set the final score.

Eastern shot over 53 percent from the field in the second half to finish 40.7 percent for the game.  The Eagles also held a slight advantage in rebounding, 34-32.

Scranton offset a 41 percent shooting effort from the field by committing a season-low eight turnovers, including just three in the first half.  The Royals also got a big lift off the bench from sophomore guard Tim Lavelle (Clarks Green/Scranton Preparatory), senior forward Andrew Wynne (Fairport, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit) and junior forward Edmond O’Connell (Somers, N.Y./Kennedy Catholic).  The trio combined for 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The Royals will return to action this Saturday, January 8, against the Rangers of Drew University in the first of a four-game Landmark Conference home stand beginning at 2:00 p.m. at the Long Center.  Immediately after the game, the university will induct the four newest members in the Wall of Fame.

News & Notes:  Today’s game was the second meeting ever between Scranton and Eastern; the Royals won the first meeting, 91-62, on January 4, 1997…Hawk is averaging 22.2 points in his last five games…Ashworth 16 points gives him 1436 for his career, which is 16th on the Royals’ all-time list.

(To view the entire press release on the Lady Royals' championship contest, click here.)

GETTYSBURG, Pa.—The University of Scranton suffered through their worst shooting effort of the season in dropping a 49-41 decision to Gettysburg College in the championship game of the Days Inn Tournament Monday afternoon at Bream Gymnasium.

With an opportunity to win their second Days Inn title in three years, Scranton got out of the gates slowly and never recovered in falling to 7-4 on the season.  The Lady Royals shot only 20 percent from the field, including a paltry 15.8 percent (3 of 19) from beyond the 3-point arc, and turned the ball over 21 times.

Senior guard Megan Kopecki (Millington, N.J./Watchung Hills Regional) led Scranton with nine points, a game-high 11 rebounds, and four steals to earn a spot on the all-tournament team.  The Lady Royals also received eight points apiece from senior guard Jennifer King (Taylor, Pa./Riverside) and sophomore forward Tayler Pallotta (Dunmore/Dunmore).

Tournament MVP Alyssa Oursler led the Bullets, now 6-3, with 17 points and junior guard Julie McGrory (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) finished with nine points and five rebounds. Gettysburg also struggled on the offensive end, shooting only 31 percent from the field and committing 20 turnovers.

The Bullets appeared to have the game in check after extending a six-point halftime lead into a 13-point margin with 8:08 remaining.  Kopecki then sandwiched four free throws around a lay-up by Pallotta and King buried three straight free throws after being fouled on a 3-point field goal attempt to cut the margin to five, 45-40, with 2:16 left. 

Scranton, however, scored just one point the rest of the way—a free throw by senior guard Colleen McLane (Scranton/Scranton Preparatory) with 28 seconds remaining.  With the Lady Royals struggling, all the Bulletts needed was a free throw by junior forward Sara Kingsley (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) and two by McGrory to push their lead back up to eight, 48-40, with 57 seconds left.

Some positives did, however, come out of tonight’s game for the Lady Royals.  They connected on 18 of 23 free throw attempts (78.3 percent) and held a 21-14 advantage in bench points.

The Lady Royals will open a four-game Landmark Conference home stand this Saturday, Jan. 8, against the Rangers of Drew University beginning at 4:00 p.m. at the Long Center.  On Sunday, Jan. 9, veteran coach Mike Strong will coach his 900th game with the Lady Royals as Scranton hosts the United States Merchant Marine Academy at 4 p.m. in the Long Center.

News & Notes:  Today’s win was the first by the Bullets over the Lady Royals since the series began on February 23, 1985 … Scranton now leads the series, 4-1 … the Lady Royals have not had a player score in double-figures in two of their last three games.

Here is the upcoming schedule for The University of Scranton's athletic teams:

Saturday, Jan. 8
Men’s Basketball - DREW (2 p.m., LONG CENTER)
Women’s Basketball - DREW (4 p.m., LONG CENTER)
Wall of Fame Induction Ceremony (3:30 p.m., LONG CENTER)
Men’s & Women’s Swimming - at Merchant Marine Academy (1 p.m.) 

Sunday, Jan. 9
Men’s Basketball – MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY (2 p.m., LONG CENTER)
Women’s Basketball – MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY (4 p.m., LONG CENTER)