Basketball

University of Scranton 82, Delaware Valley 68

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - The University of Scranton men's basketball team moved into sole possession of first place in the Freedom Conference with an 82-68 road victory against Delaware Valley College.

The Royals moved to 17-6 overall and 9-3 in conference play. They are now a half game ahead of King's College (8-3), which had its game with Drew postponed until Thursday, February 16 due to the weather. The Aggies fell to 5-18 overall and 2-10 in the Freedom with the loss.

Scranton jumped out early and built a 24-10 left with 11:45 remaining in the half, thanks to the hot shooting of Darren Cannon. Cannon hit three treys in the first four minutes of the contest and had 11 in the half.

Delaware Valley responded with a 14-0 run, including four each by Isaiah Pinckney and Zack Van Dyke, to tie the contest at 24-24 with 6:06 to go. Mike Kreuter hit a layup for the Royals, but Ryan Walsh responded with a 3-pointer to give the Aggies a 27-26 lead with 5:09 left.

However, Ryan Kirk answered with seven straight points to give Scranton the lead for good at 33-27. Delaware Valley did get back to within one on a Josh Taylor basket and another Walsh trey, but Kirk answered with a 3-pointer and Bill Burke converted a three-point play for a 39-32 Royal lead at the break.

Scranton built the lead to eight early in the second stanza, then went on a 10-0 run to put the game away at 54-36 with 13:39 remaining. The Aggies never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

The Royals finished the game shooting 56.3 percent from the field and had a 38-21 advantage on the boards. Kirk netted a game-high 20 points while Cannon had 15 points and seven boards. Randy Arnold recorded 12 points (all in the second half), eight assists and five rebounds, and Mike Kreuter came off the bench to pour in 10.

Walsh scored a career-best 18 points to pace the Aggies. Isaiah Pinckney chipped in 17 points while Ryan Thomas came off the bench to add nine points and five rebounds. Jason Seipt dished out six assists.