Scranton Lions Cruise to their Third Straight Conference Win

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

DUNMORE, Pa. - On a Friday night in the electric city, the hometown Penn State Scranton Lions men's basketball squad won their third straight contest, all in league play, this one in dominant fashion by a commanding 26 point, 97-71, margin over conference rival Penn State New Kensington. With this impressive victory, Scranton sees their overall record improve to 7-3 and they are now a perfect 3-0 in the all-important conference play schedule.

The Lions from Scranton jumped out to a sizeable 11 point, 40-29, cushion at the half-time break in the action. In the contest's final 20-minutes of action, Scranton outpaced New Kensington by a whopping 15 points, 57-42, to seize the overpowering 26 point home triumph by game's end.

Scranton was led by the three monster attack of freshman guard Zay Fowlks, freshman forward Mario Olivieri, and senior guard Jaiden Wiggins who each put up stellar double digit scoring performances in the showdown. Fowlks notched an awe-inspiring double-double with his game-high 33 points and 20 rebounds, shot an efficient 10-21 from the field, went a lethal 6-10 from downtown, and a near flawless 7-8 from the charity stripe, to go along with his trio of assists, a pair of blocks, and a steal to boot in his 39-minutes of play. Olivieri just missed out on a double-double of his own with his 25 points and nine boards, shot a lights out 9-13 from the floor, and went 7-9 from the free throw line, and added two steals for good measure in his 39-minutes of game action. Last but certainly not least, Wiggins contributed 13 points, went 1-4 from beyond the arc, and shot a perfect 4-4 on his free throw attempts, to go along with his quartet of rebounds, dished out four assists, and had a steal in his 30-minute high quality effort.

Meanwhile, New Kensington had a hat trick of players score in double figures, as freshman Aaron Feaster, junior guard Ta'Rasi Means, and fellow junior Jadyn Benson led the way on the offensive side of the ball. Feaster came off the bench and provided a nice spark for his ball club in his 17-minutes of play, as he tallied a team-high 16 points on 6-13 shooting, shot 3-6 from long distance, to go along with a couple of boards, and an assist. Means scored 15 points on 5-12 shooting from the field, went 3-6 from three point land, and made both of his free throws, to go along with his four rebounds, two assists, and a steal in his 36-minutes. Finally, Benson had 11 points, went 3-4 from the charity stripe, to go along with his four boards, two steals, and an assist in his 31-minutes on the court.

Now first-year head coach Troy Jackson Jr. and his 7-3 Penn State Scranton Lions men's basketball team will look to continue their victorious ways and stay perfect in league play and extend their winning streak to four straight games when they next play this Saturday afternoon at home against conference foe Penn State Greater Allegheny, with tip-off slated for a 3pm matinee start time. Meanwhile, head coach Brant Mack and his 4-2 Penn State New Kensington ball club, who are 1-1 in crucial league play, and saw their three game win streak snapped in their loss to Scranton, will look to bounce back right away when they next go on the road to battle with conference rival Penn State Wilkes-Barre this Saturday at 3pm.