Box Score The Misericordia University men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the year on Tuesday, falling 69-54 on the road at Scranton.

The Cougars are now 2-1 after winning the championship in the 22nd Annual McCarthy Tire Laurel Line Tournament.

Steve Ware led the way on offense with 14 points and seven rebounds while Cael Evans checked in with 11.

They were the only scorers in double-figures for a Cougars team that shot just 31 percent from the floor and 22.2 percent (2-12) from three-point range.

Scranton raced out to a 27-17 lead with five minutes in the first half before MU made a late charge.

Evans hit two free throws to cut the lead to eight. Patrick Widdoss hit a layup and then Matt Greene tallied four free throws in two possessions to take the deficit down to just two at 27-25.

Brian Farrell ended the 8-0 Cougar run with a three to put the home team on top by five and the two traded buckets before the half to give Scranton a 32-27 advantage at the break.

Evans started the second half with a layup to make it 32-29 but the Royals went on a 11-4 run to swell the score to 43-33.

MU tried to amount another charge as freshman Andrew Moran forced a turnover and converted on a jumper. Joe Busacca then added a three-pointer to cut the lead back to five at 43-38. Widdoss added a free throw on the next Cougar trip down the floor to cut it to four with 10:16 left, but Scranton went on a 26-16 run the rest of the way to secure the victory.

MU will play again on Thursday against Haverford.