Scranton Lions Drop Road Conference Showdown

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On Wednesday night, the visiting Penn State Scranton Lions men's basketball hoops squad lost a tough 104-65 road battle at league foe Penn State Mont Alto. This was Mont Alto's second victory this season over Scranton, as they beat them by 12 points, 108-96, on the road back on January 13^th. With this loss, Scranton is now on a mini two game losing skid and they see their overall record go to 10-16 and are now 6-10 in their crucial league play schedule with just one regular season contest left in their 2025-2026 campaign.

The hometown Lions from Mont Alto jumped out to an electric start and never looked back, as they took a commanding 43-26 advantage heading into the half-time break in the action. In the game's last 20-minutes of play, Mont Alto continued to put the pedal to the metal in the second half and outscored Scranton by a robust 61-39 margin, as they would celebrate their dominant 39 point triumph when the final buzzer sounded out.

Scranton had a hat trick of players score in double figures in the showdown, as stand-out senior All-American guard Jaiden Wiggins, junior guard Elijah Bryant, and sharp shooting senior guard Fhenyx Scutt set the pace for their ball club on the offensive side of the ball. Wiggins recorded a game-high 21 points on 8-23 shooting from the floor, making a near perfect 5-6 from the charity stripe, while hauling in eight rebounds, and a pair of assists in his stellar 38-minutes of court time. Bryant contributed a rock solid 14 points on 5-20 shooting, sinking in 1-7 from three point land, making 3-5 from the foul line, to go along with his six boards, and a couple of steals in his 37-minute quality effort. Last but certainly not least, Scutt had 13 points on 4-10 shooting, connecting on 2-4 from beyond the arc, sinking in all three of his free throws, while grabbing two rebounds, two steals, and added an assist for good measure in just 27-minutes of play.

Meanwhile, Mont Alto had a whopping six players put up impressive double digit scoring performances during the festivities, as freshman guard Jaysen Moise, junior forward Veron Talla, junior guard Vincent Frene, junior forward Joe Brooks, freshman guard Lawson Hopkins, and senior guard Richard Burke led the way on the offensive attack for their squad. Moise came off the bench and provided a nice spark in his 21-minutes, as he tallied a team-high 17 points on an efficient 6-10 shooting, making 1-2 from downtown, going a flawless 4-4 on his free throw attempts, to go along with his eight boards, and a trio of assists. Talla notched a powerful double-double with his 16 points and 14 rebounds, shooting a lights out 5-8 from the field, making 6-8 of his free throws, and added an assist to boot in his 23-minutes of hard work. Frene scored 12 points on 5-9 shooting, sinking in 1-3 from long distance range, making his only free throw shot, while grabbing seven boards, two assists, and a steal in his 23-minutes. Brooks also put up 12 points, as he came off the bench and did an exemplary job in his 15-minutes of action, shooting a terrific 5-6 from the floor, making both of his free throws, to go along with his three rebounds, two steals, two block shots, and an assist. Hopkins added 10 points on 4-10 shooting, making 1-5 on the three ball, sinking in his only free throw shot, while nabbing a quartet of boards, a steal, and a block in his 16-minutes. Finally, Burke came off the bench and in his 20-minutes he scored 10 points on 2-6 shooting, making all six of his free throws, to go along with his five rebounds, three assists, and a steal during the proceedings.

Now head coach Troy Jackson Jr. and his 10-16 Penn State Scranton men's hoops squad will look to bounce right back from this tough defeat to Mont Alto and snap their two game losing streak when they next host non-conference foe Central Penn this Friday the 13^th in their regular season finale on Senior Night to celebrate their graduating players stellar collegiate basketball careers, with a scheduled 6pm tip-off start time. Meanwhile, veteran head coach Jack Schenzel and his red hot 19-6 Penn State Mont Alto ball club, who are an awe-inspiring 12-4 in crucial league play, including a top notch 9-1 on their own home court, will next get ready to host their first round PSUAC quarterfinals must win playoff matchup this upcoming Tuesday evening on February 17^th.