SCRANTON, PA—The Scranton Royals opened the Hilton Scranton Men's Basketball Invitational with a win over the visiting Houghton Highlanders on Friday night, 89-69.
 
Scranton capitalized on their size, collecting six more offensive rebounds than the Highlanders, leading to 19 second-chance points.
 
Over a 10 minute stretch from the final four minutes of the first half through the first six minutes of the second half, the Royals stretch a five-point lead to a 26-point lead, outscoring the Highlanders, 32-11.
 
The two teams traded baskets early, as Houghton's Isander Ramos-Net sank a jumper just over 11 minutes into the game to give the Highlanders a one-point lead.
 
Houghton kept things close over the next five minutes, but Scranton closed the half on a 10-4 run to take an 11-point lead into the locker room.
 
The Royals came out in much the same fashion in the early minutes of the second half, outscoring the Highlanders, 22-7, over the first six minutes, and pushed their lead to 30 points with just over six minutes to play. 

Houghton outscored Scranton over the final minutes, 16-6, but could not overcome the deficit. 
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 69 | Scranton – 89
Records: Houghton: 1-1 | Scranton: 2-0
Venue: The John Long Center, University of Scranton | Attendance: 235

NOTABLE STATS
>> The Highlanders committed 21 turnovers on the game, leading to 27 Scranton points.  The Royals committed only nine turnovers, which were converted into only 11 Houghton points.
 
>> While the Highlanders matched the Royals in overall shooting percentage (50 percent for both teams) and made a higher percentage of shots from long range (47.6% to 41.2%), Scranton took 12 more overall shots from the floor.  The Royals also converted 16-of-22 free throws, while the Highlanders sank five of only seven attempts from the line.
 
>> Billy McCrae led the Highlanders with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while Ramos-Net scored 11 points and dished out four assists.
 
>> Jackson Danzig led the Royals with 14 points.

COACH'S CORNER
"We hit a lot of shots tonight, but size, strength and discipline differential were apparent as we gave them 18 more possessions tonight.  We're not going to beat anybody giving away that many opportunities.

"Scranton returned five starters from a 20-win team.  They are a very solid squad who played very well." - Coach Lance Westberg
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders will face the Sarah Lawrence College Gryphons tomorrow at a time yet to be determined, as they return for the second day of the Hilton Scranton Invitational.