MEN'S BASKETBALL: Royals rally, advance to NCAA second round
Mar. 3—Three times, the University of Scranton men's basketball team faced a double-digit deficit against North Carolina Wesleyan.
Each time, the Royals never flinched.
Jackson Danzig hit a free throw with 12.3 seconds left to break a tie and Will McLoughlin got a piece of Kyron Kelly's potential game-winning final shot, enabling the Royals to beat the Battling Bishops, 65-64, in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament Friday at Randolph-Macon College's Crenshaw Gymnasium in Ashland, Virginia.
"That's kind of been our year. The guys really have a hang-in-there attitude," Scranton coach Carl Danzig said. "We've been in so many of these games. The calmness in the timeouts was just amazing. They felt good, they weren't rattled, which was a tribute to them.
"They (North Carolina Wesleyan) really got in our face early and were super-aggressive. But the last eight minutes, I think they ran out of gas and we were still there. I think they were kind of surprised. Then we went to our bread and butter, our big guys Will and Jack."
Danzig and McLoughlin each scored 23 points as Scranton (21-7) won its seventh straight game. The Royals advance to the second round against Randolph-Macon on Saturday at 7 p.m. The defending national champion Yellowjackets (28-1) scored the first 22 points and rolled to a 73-36 victory over Wilson College in the other first-round matchup.
North Carolina Wesleyan (23-5) led the Royals at halftime, 35-29, and with Khalid Chavis-Hinds scoring eight of his team-leading 23 points, the Battling Bishops extended the margin to 50-39 with 12:03 left.
Six straight points by McLoughlin pulled the Royals to within 50-45. But Chavis-Hinds hit a 3-pointer, then fed Kelly for a basket to push the lead to 55-45 with 9:51 remaining.
That's when Scranton's defense dug in and held the Battling Bishops to two points over the next 6 1/2 minutes, enabling the offense to go on an 11-2 run and close within 57-56 with 4:10 left.
After the teams traded free throws, McLoughlin scored off an assist by E.J. Matthews-Spratley to give the Royals a 60-59 lead with 2:45 left.
Isaiah Lewis answered with a three-point play for North Carolina Wesleyan, but Danzig put back his missed shot to tie the score at 62 with 2:14 to go.
With 1:01 left, Matthews-Spratley hit a baseline jumper to give Scranton a 64-62 lead. But Brayden Dixon countered with 41 seconds left to knot it at 64.
Scranton ran down the clock and with 12.3 seconds left, Danzig was fouled on a drive. He missed the first foul shot, but made the second to put the Royals ahead by one.
The Battling Bishops didn't call timeout and brought the ball up the court. A shot by Dixon was short of the rim. Kelly grabbed the rebound and attempted a putback over his head. However, McLoughlin got a piece of it and the final buzzer sounded, sending the Royals bench onto the court in celebration.
"They hadn't been in a lot of close games. They'd won (13) in a row, but they hadn't been truly challenged," coach Danzig said. "We were hoping that if we were right there, that would help us. We were fortunate it did in the end."
In the first half, North Carolina Wesleyan's aggressive defense gave the Royals problems, forcing 12 turnovers and scoring 15 points off those turnovers.
Danzig's 3-pointer with 11:30 left gave Scranton its first lead, 12-10. But the Royals would go scoreless for the next 6:44, missing four shots and committing six turnovers. That allowed the Battling Bishops to go on a 15-0 run and open a 25-12 lead with 6:09 left in the half.
The Royals regrouped. Matthews-Spratley's 3-pointer ended the drought and sparked a 17-6 run that cut the deficit to 31-29 with one minute left. Baskets by Sal-Bey Young and Chavis-Hinds gave North Carolina Wesleyan its six-point halftime lead.
Scranton protected the basketball better in the second half, committing just three turnovers.
"People at home can't appreciate how quick their guards were. They are super fast," coach Danzig said. "But once we managed the ball better in the second half, our guys did good job."
Now, the Royals face a daunting task against Randolph-Macon. The Yellowjackets are the No. 1 team in Division III and their win Friday at Crenshaw Gym was their 63rd straight home victory, breaking the Division III record of 62 set by North Park (1984-88).
"That's what makes the tournament great. These kind of matchups and oppportunities," coach Danzig said. "This is what we came down here to do — be a bracket-buster. They're a very good team, they're veteran, they've done this. Hopefully, we're just mindless enough to not realize what we're doing, have fun and it'll be a great game."
Scranton 65, N.C. Wesleyan 64
N.C. Wesleyan (23-5) — Lewis 5-14 2-2 12; Kelly 2-4 0-2 4; Brayden 2-5 4-4 8; Eskew 2-6 1-2 5; Chavis-Hinds 10-20 2-4 23; Mattocks 3-3 0-0 6; Manley 0-3 2-2 2; Young 2-4 0-0 4. Totals: 26-59 11-16 64
Scranton (21-7) — McLoughlin 11-15 1-4 23; Danzig 8-16 3-5 23; Parland 0-1 0-0 0; Braunstein 2-6 2-2 7; Spatola 1-3 0-0 2; Thompson 0-0 2-2 2; Matthews-Spratley 2-4 1-1 6; Khoza 0-2 0-0 0; Hanley 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 25-49 9-14 65
Halftime: NCW, 35-29. 3-point shooting: NCW 1-7 (Chavis-Hinds 1-2, Lewis 0-1, Dixon 0-1, Eskew 0-1, Manley 0-2); SCR 6-13 (Danzig 4-7, Matthews-Spratley 1-1, Braunstein 1-1, Khoza 0-1, McLoughlin 0-3). Rebounds: NCW 32 (Kelly 11); SCR 29 (Danzig 8). Assists: NCW 12 (Dixon, Chavis-Hinds 5); SCR 20 (Spatola 7). Steals: NCW 5 (Young 3); SCR 6 (Braunstein 3). Blocks: NCW 4 (Lewis 2); SCR 4 (Danzig 2). Team rebounds: NCW 2; SCR 5. Turnovers: NCW 12; SCR 15. Team fouls: NCW 17; SCR 13. Fouled out: Young.
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