Scranton Lions Lose a Heart Breaker

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

In a Saturday afternoon road matinee to kick-off the month of February, the visiting Penn State Scranton Lions men's basketball team dropped a thrilling three point nail-biter, 79-76, to conference rival Penn State Schuylkill. The Lions from Schuylkill with this victory got revenge for their earlier season 17 point, 90-73, road loss to Scranton from back on November 19.^th With this tough defeat, Scranton is on a five game losing skid and they see their overall record move to 11-11 and they are now 7-6 in crucial league play with only five contests remaining in the regular season.

Schuylkill maintained a slim four point, 41-37, advantage over Scranton heading into the half-time break in the action. In the game's last 20-minutes of play, Scranton actually outscored their opponent by a mere point, 39-38, before Schuylkill held on for their three point close home triumph when the final buzzer sounded.

Scranton was led on offense by the dynamic upperclassmen duo of stand-out senior guard Jaiden Wiggins and junior big man Marcus Delesline who each scored in double figures in the showdown. Wiggins tallied a game-high 27 points on a highly efficient 10-16 shooting from the field, going 1-3 from three point land, shooting a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe, to go along with four steals, a quartet of assists, a pair of rebounds, and added a block to boot while playing in all 40-minutes of the ball game. Last but certainly not least, Delesline notched an impressive double-double with his 19 points and 15 boards, shooting a robust 5-8 from the floor, going a near flawless 9-10 on his free throw attempts, while stealing the ball twice, and dishing out an assist for good measure in his 40-minutes of stellar court time.

Meanwhile, Schuylkill also had two players score in double digits in the fierce battle, as junior guard Issac Lane and senior point guard Antwuan Byrd set the pace offensively for their ball club. Lane recorded a double-double of his own with his stalwart 26 points and 12 rebounds, shooting a lights out 9-14 from the field, going 1-3 from beyond the arc, sinking in 7-10 from the free throw line, to go along with his four assists, and a couple of steals in his 33-minutes of hard work. Finally, Byrd contributed a solid 16 points on 5-13 shooting from the floor, going 3-9 from downtown, making 3-4 on his foul shots, while grabbing four boards, four assists, and a pair of steals in his 31-minute quality effort.

Now first-year head coach Troy Jackson Jr. and his 11-11 Penn State Scranton men's hoops squad will look to bounce right back and snap their five game losing streak when they next go on the road to face off against conference foe Penn State Lehigh Valley this upcoming Wednesday evening, with tip-off slated for an 8pm prime time start. Scranton will look to sweep their mini two game season series against Lehigh Valley after already beating them by 14 points, 75-61, in a home tilt from back on December 3^rd. Meanwhile, head coach Travis Williams and his 14-8 Penn State Schuylkill basketball team, who are an awe-inspiring 11-2 in crucial league play, will look to extend their red hot winning streak to five straight games when they next host conference rival Penn State York this Tuesday night at 8pm. Schuylkill will be looking to sweep their mini two game season series against York after beating them on the road 71-61 back on December 3^rd.