Scranton Lions Win a Nail-Biter Over Lehigh Valley

Marcus Delesline led the Scranton Lions in the victory over Lehigh Valley with 33 points and 13 rebounds.
Marcus Delesline led the Scranton Lions in the victory over Lehigh Valley with 33 points and 13 rebounds.
February 14, 2023

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On Tuesday evening, the hometown Penn State Scranton men's basketball squad celebrated Valentine's Day in grand fashion, as they won a one point thriller, 74-73, right at the buzzer over conference rival Penn State Lehigh Valley. Scranton got revenge from an earlier season loss to Lehigh Valley, as back on January 21st, just 24 days ago, they dropped an 80-71 home decision to them. Now with this victory, the Scranton Lions see their overall record improve to 7-16 and 3-14 in the crucial league play schedule with only two regular season games remaining, both at home, against conference rivals Penn State Wilkes-Barre and Brandywine. In other good news, both the Penn State Scranton men's and women's basketball teams hosted their annual Pink Zone game on the night to help raise money to benefit PA Pink Zone for families affected by breast cancer.

In the first half, Scranton clung to a razor thin two point, 32-30, advantage over Lehigh Valley heading into the half-time break in the action. In the second half of play, Scranton's lead ballooned to as much as 17 points, 61-44, before the Lions from Lehigh Valley came roaring back and actually outscored their opponent by a point, 43-42, in the game's final 20 minutes of action. The decisive moment in the ball game came when Scranton's sophomore big man Marcus Delesline made the go-ahead basket to break the tie and give his club a 74-72 lead with only 14 seconds left in the contest, before Lehigh Valley's Jalyn Williams made the first but missed his second free throw shot right as the buzzer sounded to give the hometown Lions the nail-biting one point triumph.

Scranton was led on offense by the dynamic duo of Delesline and senior forward Justin Craigg who put up sensational double digit scoring performances in the matchup. Delesline notched another double-double with his game-high 35 points and 13 rebounds, to go along with his highly efficient 12-24 shooting from the field, and made a three pointer to boot in his stand-out 37 minutes on the court. Craigg tallied 14 points, 12 of them coming from his lethal 4-7 shooting from three point land, to go along with his five boards, two steals on defense, and an assist. Honorable mention also goes to sophomore guard Jaiden Wiggins, freshman Ryan Cabrera, and fellow freshman Fhenyx Scutt who put up quality outings. Wiggins scored eight points, five rebounds, a trio of assists, and was a perfect 2-2 shooting from beyond the arc while providing a nice spark off the bench in his 21 minutes of hard work. Cabrera chipped in with nine points, four boards, a steal, and a block shot in his solid 19 minutes coming off the bench. Last but certainly not least, Scutt made a noteworthy game-high 10 assists, to go along with his five rebounds on the day.

On the Lehigh Valley side of things, they had a hat trick of players score in double figures in the ball game, as senior guard Dajour Douglas, (Jalyn) Williams, and Myreon Gant set the pace for their squad. Douglas scored a team-high 21 points on an efficient 9-16 shooting from the field, to go along with his five steals, a trio of rebounds, and two assists in his stalwart 37 minutes of play. Williams notched a double-double with his 12 points and 12 boards, to go along with two blocks, a steal, and a three pointer to boot. Finally, Gant added 11 points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals, and made 2-4 of his shots from downtown in his quality 26 minutes on the floor.

Now head coach Chris Sload and his Penn State Scranton men's basketball squad will look to continue their winning ways when they next host local conference rival Penn State Wilkes-Barre this upcoming Saturday afternoon on Senior Day, with tip-off scheduled for 1pm. Before that game begins, Scranton will also be hosting their inaugural alumni game that will kick-off at 10:30am for the home fans to enjoy. Scranton will be looking to avenge an earlier season loss to Wilkes-Barre from back on December 3rd when they dropped a nine point, 83-74 road decision. Meanwhile, head coach Ray-Maurice Edwards and his Penn State Lehigh Valley ball club, who with this heartbreaking defeat to Scranton see their overall record fall to 8-14 and 5-11 in the crucial league play with only three games remaining this regular season, will look to snap their three game losing streak when they next go on the road for a conference showdown at Penn State York this Saturday with a 3pm matinee.