AJ Sports

By Tom Robinson
Go Lackawanna sports correspondent

                SCRANTON – Zach Ashworth hit 3-pointers early and free throws late Tuesday night.

                Ashworth scored a game-high 21 points to lead the University of Scranton to a season-opening, 73-64 men’s basketball victory over Kean University.

                The 6-foot-2 junior guard hit two early 3-pointers, then made 11 straight second-half free throws before missing his last attempt.

                After Ashworth hit a 3-pointer to open the game, Scranton never trailed.

                The only two times Kean tied the game, at 44 and 46 midway through the second half, Eli Londo had the answer. Londo tipped in a missed shot then powered inside for another basket, putting the Royals ahead to stay with 11:53 left.

                “I’m excited for Eli,” Scranton coach Carl Danzig said. “He’s worked real hard to get ready for this year.”

                Londo went 7-for-9 from the floor to finish with 14 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots in 23 minutes.

                Matt Swaback, a sophomore from Wyoming Seminary, added 13 points in his first career start while Matt FitzPatrick, a sophomore from Scranton Prep who transferred after one season at Ithaca College, had 10 points.

                Travis Farrell came off the bench for a team-high seven rebounds in 20 minutes to lead Scranton to a 37-32 rebounding edge after early troubles on the defensive end.

                “Early on, I was concerned,” Danzig said. “We made an adjustment, which was nice to me. We called a timeout and addressed it.

                “We fixed it and from that point on, the guys did a good job.”

                The Royals, who host the Radisson Invitational Saturday and Sunday, won their sixth straight season opener.

                Scranton hit three 3-pointers, two by Ashworth and one by Swaback, in the first five minutes to jump to a 15-5 lead and remained in front the rest of the half.

                The lead allowed the Royals to play without starters Londo and Dan O’Connell for the last nine minutes of the half after each picked up two fouls.
                “I feel like we have 10 solid players and can even go 11,” Danzig said. “With Dan O’Connell and Eli going out, we didn’t miss a beat.

                “We hung in pretty well.”

                Kean, which is picked by league coaches to finish second in the New Jersey Athletic Conference South Division, was led by Vinnie Darpino with 19 points and six assists.

                Scranton is the two-time defending Landmark Conference champion.

               Ashworth finished 15-for-16 from the line coming one made free throw short of the Long Center record.

               For more details about this game and local college sports, see Saturday's Scranton Edition of the Times Leader.