Scranton Lions Make a Huge Comeback to Defeat Conference Rival

Scranton Lions Make a Huge Comeback to Defeat Conference Rival
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January 31, 2026

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On Saturday afternoon, the hometown Penn State Scranton Lions men's basketball team came back from a sizeable double digit deficit in the second half to beat league foe Penn State Schuylkill by a five point, 105-100, margin. With this big victory, Scranton is on a mini two game winning streak, both in conference play, as they improve their overall record to a 9-11 mark, they are now a rock solid 7-5 on their home court, and they are 6-5 in crucial league play with only a couple of weeks remaining in their 2025-2026 regular season campaign. Saturday's home contest also saw Scranton celebrate their worthwhile annual 3's for THON charitable festivities that helps raise money for kids and their families battling pediatric cancer.

It was a tale of two halves in the matinee, as the road warriors from Schuylkill raced out to a 10 point cushion at 57-47 headed into the half-time break in the action. However, in the game's last 20-minutes of action, the Lions from Scranton came roaring right back and outscored Schuylkill by a whopping 15 points, 58-43, in the second half of play, as the hometown resilient Lions would stand tall and celebrate their five point, nail-biting, thrilling triumph when the final buzzer sounded out.

Scranton had a quartet of players score in double figures during the festivities, as stand-out sharp shooting senior guard Fhenyx Scutt, junior guard Elijah Bryant, senior All-American guard Jaiden Wiggins, and fellow senior guard Xavier Noble set the pace offensively for their ball club. Scutt tallied a game-high 31 points, eclipsing the historic 1,000 point milestone in his collegiate career when he nailed an early second half three pointer, to go along with shooting 8-17 from the floor, going a lethal 6-12 from beyond the arc, making 9-11 from the charity stripe, while hauling in six rebounds, five assists, and adding a block for good measure in his stalwart 40-minutes of court time. Bryant contributed 27 points on 11-24 shooting from the field, sinking in 2-8 from downtown, making a near flawless 3-4 from the free throw line, to go along with a hat trick of boards, a pair of steals, and added an assist to boot while playing in all 40-minutes of the showdown. Wiggins notched an impressive double-double with his 22 points and 11 rebounds, shooting an efficient 8-15 from the floor, going a perfect 6-6 on his free throw attempts, while dishing out four assists, a couple of steals, and a block in his dominant 40-minute effort. Last but certainly not least, Noble had 11 points on 4-9 shooting, sinking in 3-8 from three point land, to go along with a trio of boards, and two steals in just 25-minutes of play.

Meanwhile, Schuylkill also had four players score in double digits on the day, as senior guard Issac Lane, senior forward Lee Newton, senior guard Amir Gray, and freshman shooting guard Dekari Harrell led the way on the offensive attack for their squad. Lane came off the bench and provided a much needed spark in his 30-minutes, as he recorded a team-high 20 points on 7-13 shooting, making all six of his free throws, while grabbing nine rebounds, five assists, and a block. Newton notched a top notch double-double with his 18 points and 14 boards, shooting a lights out 9-12 from the field, to go along with his three assists, and a block in his 26-minutes of hard work. Gray added 15 points on 5-15 shooting, making 1-6 on the three ball, sinking in all four of his free throws, while nabbing seven rebounds, dishing out five assists, and blocked two Scranton shots in his 28-minutes on the floor. Finally, Harrell did high quality work in his 22-minutes off the bench, as he scored 12 points on 4-9 shooting, connecting on 2-4 from long distance range, making both of his free throws, to go along with his four boards during the proceedings.

Now head coach Troy Jackson Jr. and his 9-11 Penn State Scranton Lions men's hoops team will look to stay red hot and extend their winning streak to three straight games when they next host conference rival Penn State York this upcoming Tuesday night, with a scheduled 8pm tip-off start time. Scranton will be looking to avenge an earlier season 88-65 loss on the road at Penn State York from back on November 18th. Meanwhile, veteran head coach Travis Williams and his 7-14 Penn State Schuylkill squad, who are 4-8 in league play, will look to bounce right back from this tough defeat to Scranton and snap their mini three game losing streak when they next travel on the road to square off against league foe Penn State Hazleton this Tuesday evening at 8pm.