Lions Fall to Bobcats in Tournament Championship Game

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On Saturday afternoon, the hometown Penn State Scranton Lions men's basketball squad fell in their hard fought tip-off tournament championship contest to non-conference foe the Bryant & Stratton-Syracuse Bobcats by eight points, 97-89. With this defeat, Scranton sees their overall record fall to 4-3 on the young hoops season as they enter into their all-important conference play schedule this upcoming week.

It was all Scranton in the first half of play, as they raced out to an early 17 point, 50-33, commanding advantage heading into the break in the action. However, in the game's final 20-minutes of thrilling action, the road warrior Bobcats from Syracuse came roaring back and outscored the Lions by a dominant 25 point, 64-39, margin to ensure their impressive eight point comeback triumph to capture the coveted tournament title.

Scranton had a quartet of players put up stellar double digit scoring performances in the battle, as freshman guard Zay Fowlks, senior guard Jaiden Wiggins, freshman forward Mario Olivieri, and junior guard Fhenyx Scutt set the pace offensively for their ball club. Fowlks notched a stalwart double-double with his game-high 27 points and 16 rebounds, went a perfect 4-4 from three point land, shot 7-9 from the charity stripe, to go along with his four assists, a pair of steals, and a block to boot while playing in all 40-minutes of the contest. Wiggins tallied 26 points on 11-23 shooting, sunk in 3-5 of his shots from downtown, made his only free throw, collected eight boards, and added a steal for good measure in his 40-minutes of game action. Olivieri recorded 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and an assist in his 35-minutes on the court. Last but certainly not least, Scutt contributed 13 points, shot 3-9 from long distance range, made both of his free throw attempts, picked up seven boards, and a steal in his 40-minutes of play.

Meanwhile, the Bobcats had a whopping five players score in double figures, as junior guard Darren Joyner, junior center Jordan Drain, junior forward Chamarri Baskerville, fellow junior Justice Carrington, and freshman guard Keishon Crosby led the way on the offensive side of the ball for their team. Joyner scored a team-high 27 points on 11-23 shooting from the field, made four baskets from beyond the arc, to go along with his eight rebounds, an assist, and a steal in his 31-minutes on the floor. Drain recorded a double-double with his 21 points and 13 boards, shot 8-17 from the field, and added an assist. Baskerville also picked up a double-double with his rock solid 17 points and 16 rebounds, went 5-12 from three point range, and had a pair of assists. Carrington tallied 14 points, shot 1-3 from downtown, made all three of his free throw attempts, and nabbed five boards. Finally, Crosby came off the bench and in his 18-minutes of play provided a nice spark for his ball club, as he scored 12 points on 5-10 shooting, made both of his free throws, picked up five rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Now first-year head coach Troy Jackson Jr. and his 4-3 Penn State Scranton Lions men's basketball team will look to bounce back when they next host Penn State Schuylkill in their crucial conference opener this Tuesday night with tip-off slated for an 8pm prime time start.