The Misericordia men's basketball team defeated rivals Scranton 75-71 Tuesday night at the Anderson Center.

 

The Royals kept leading scorers Vinny Baumunk and Dom Del Prete relatively quiet throughout the first half, but co-captain Marcus Little and Robbie Johnson made plenty of noise. Little posted nine points—five on free throws, and Johnson added eight.

 

The Cougars were down by as much as seven points in the half, but they clawed back and took their first lead with six minutes to go. The game was tied 38-38 at halftime.

 

It was business as usual in the second half for Baumunk. He put up 16 points, including a dunk that capped a 6-0 run. Three and a half minutes later, the Cougars orchestrated an 11-0 run that put them up 58-49 with just over seven minutes to go.

 

They led by as much as eleven and never surrendered the lead. In the end, it was the Cougars 75-71.

 

Baumunk ended the night with 22 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Del Prete, Johnson and Little each scored in double digits with 14, 11 and 10, respectively.

 

Del Prete was 10-for-12 at the free throw line. The Cougars shot 32-for-47 (68.1%) at the line as a team. By comparison, the Royals shot 10-for-19 (52.6%). There were 46 total fouls; two Royals fouled out.

 

Luke Hawk led the Royals with 29 points. Biagioli added 15, and Ryan FitzPatrick and Zach Ashworth each scored 11.

 

The Royals scored 33 points off 3-pointers. Hawk was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. Biagioli was 3-for-4.

 

The Cougars travel to Marywood Saturday for a rematch of this weekend's Laurel Line Tournament championship game. Tipoff is  at 3:00 p.m.