Scranton Notches Big Comeback Conference Victory

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On a Friday night in the electric city, the hometown Penn State Scranton Lions men's basketball team erased a huge 14 point deficit at half-time to prevail for the big three point, 95-92, comeback triumph over visiting conference rival Penn State Fayette. With this impressive win, Scranton snaps their mini two game losing skid and improves their overall record to 3-3 and they are now 1-1 in their crucial league play schedule so far on the young hoops season.

After the road warriors from Fayette raced out to the early 14 point, 54-40, advantage at the end of the first half of play, the Lions from Scranton came roaring right back and outscored their opponent by a whopping 17 points, 55-38, in the contest's final 20-minutes of thrilling action, as they celebrated their three point nail-biting win when the game clock hit all zeroes.

Scranton was led on the offensive attack by a quartet of players scoring in double figures during the festivities, as stand-out junior guard Elijah Bryant, senior guard Jaiden Wiggins, fellow senior guard Fhenyx Scutt, and freshman guard Terrance McBride Jr. set the pace for their ball club. Bryant led the way scoring a game-high 32 points on an efficient 10-20 shooting from the floor, sinking in a pair of baskets from three point land, going 10-13 from the charity stripe, while stealing the ball five times, and nabbing a trio of rebounds in his quality 26-minutes coming off the bench. Wiggins tallied a rock solid 21 points on 6-12 shooting, going 9-11 on his free throws, collecting six boards, four assists, and added a block to boot in his stellar 36-minutes on the court. Scutt put up 15 points on 3-7 shooting, going 1-2 from long distance range, making 8-11 from the free throw line, while dishing out a hat trick of assists, picking up a rebound, and a steal for good measure while playing in all 40-minutes of the ball game. Last but certainly not least, McBride Jr. also recorded 15 points, as he shot 5-10 from the field, going 4-8 from downtown, while hauling in three boards, and an assist in his top notch 19-minutes off the bench.

Meanwhile, the Lions from Fayette also had four players put up stalwart double digit scoring performances in the showdown, as senior Jesse Lawson Jr., sophomore Landon Percinsky, senior Kamau Mitchell, and freshman Josiah McKoy led the way on the offensive side of the ball for their club. Lawson Jr. contributed a team-high 18 points on 6-11 shooting, going a red hot 2-3 on the three ball, shooting a flawless 4-4 on his free throws, to go along with his six rebounds, three steals, and a couple of assists in his 37-minutes of hard work. Percinsky had 15 points on 5-9 shooting, going 1-3 from three land, making all four of his free throws, while picking up four boards, two assists, and a block in his 21-minutes of action. Mitchell came off the bench and provided a nice spark in his 11-minutes of play, as he put up 13 points on 5-12 shooting, going 3-6 on his long range shots, while grabbing four rebounds, three assists, and a block. Finally, McKoy also did excellent work coming off the bench, as he tallied 10 points on 3-4 shooting, sinking 2-3 from downtown, making both of his free throw attempts, to go along with his pair of boards, and an assist in just 10-minutes of court time.

Now head coach Troy Jackson Jr. and his 3-3 Penn State Scranton hoops squad will look to continue their winning ways when they next host league foe Penn State Beaver this Saturday afternoon with a scheduled 3pm tip-off time. Meanwhile, head coach Trey Austin and his 1-1 Penn State Fayette basketball team, all in league play so far, will look to bounce right back from this tough defeat when they next travel on the road to square off with conference rival Penn State Hazleton this Saturday in a 3pm matinee.