Scranton Lions Fall in Home Finale
By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics
On Tuesday evening, the hometown Penn State Scranton Lions men’s basketball team hosted their annual Senior Night festivities to honor their graduating senior class and fought hard to the final buzzer before dropping a tough nine point, 72-63, conference battle against Penn State Hazleton. This was Hazleton’s second win this year over Scranton after their 97-73 home triumph against them from back on January 24th. With this defeat, Scranton is on a mini three game losing skid and sees their overall record go to 12-14 and they are now 8-9 in crucial league play with just one regular season road contest left to wrap up their 2024-2025 hoops campaign.
In the first half of play, Scranton kept the game close and only trailed by a mere five points, 35-30, heading into the half-time break in the action. In the game’s last 20-minutes, Hazleton outscored Scranton 37-33 despite a fast and furious comeback attempt in the second half that fell just short that led to the nine point loss when the final horn sounded.
Scranton had a hat trick of players score in double figures in the showdown, as stand-out senior guard Jaiden Wiggins, fellow senior guard Jerry Surrency, and junior big man Marcus Delesline set the pace offensively for their ball club. Wiggins who entered this contest just 10 points away from the impressive 1,000 collegiate career points milestone eclipsed that impressive mark in grand fashion, as he notched a stellar double-double with his team-high 15 points and 11 rebounds, made a three point basket, dished out five assists, and added a steal to boot while playing in all 40-minutes of the match. Surrency also tallied a stalwart 15 points, as he shot an efficient 6-13 from the field, went 3-7 from downtown, grabbed a trio of boards, stole the ball twice, and added an assist for good measure in his 35-minutes of court time. Last but certainly not least, Delesline came off the bench and provided a nice spark in his 32-minutes of action, as he scored 13 points, all in the second half of play, shot a red hot 5-9 from the floor, hauled in eight rebounds, and blocked a shot during the home finale.
Meanwhile, the road warriors from Hazleton also had a three headed attack that put up double digit scoring performances on the night to lead the way on the offensive side of the ball for their squad, as junior guard Andre Campbell, senior forward Dante Harward, and senior guard Joey Lombardo shined bright. Campbell had a game-high 25 points on a lethal 10-14 shooting from the field, went 1-2 from beyond the arc, nabbed five boards, stole the ball three times, had a pair of assists, and two block shots in his 40-minutes of high quality play. Harward recorded a commanding double-double with his 19 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 8-14 from the floor, going 3-5 from the charity stripe, and dished out a quartet of assists in his 37-minutes of playing time. Finally, Lombardo contributed 12 points, all in the second half on his red hot three point shooting, as he went 4-7 from long distance range, to go along with his six boards in his 27-minute effort.
Now first-year head coach Troy Jackson Jr. and his 12-14 Penn State Scranton hoops squad will look to bounce back right away and snap their three game losing streak while wrapping up their regular season schedule with a big conference win when they next face off on the road against rival Penn State York this Friday night, with tip-off slated for an 8pm prime time start. Scranton will be looking to avenge their recent 110-79 home loss to York from back on January 28th.
Meanwhile, head coach Robbie Hopkins and his 9-13 Penn State Hazleton basketball team, who are 6-11 in league play, snapped their five game losing streak with their win over Scranton and will look to end their regular season on a high note when they host conference foe Penn State Schuylkill this Friday evening at 8pm. Hazleton will be looking to avenge their close five point, 80-75, road defeat at Schuylkill from back on January 28th.