It was another successful night of Colonels men’s basketball last night, Feb. 25. The Colonels took on the University of Scranton in the first round of the Landmark Conference playoffs.
Right from the start, the Colonels started hot, going on a 7-2 before the Royals stormed back. After going on a 6-0 run, it was advantage Scranton until Daniel Santaniello hit a clutch three pointer to give the lead back to the Colonels. Halfway through the first half, it was a tied ball game.
After hitting a three of their own, The Royals had the advantage and took the lead into halftime. The score was 28-25 in favor of Scranton.
It was a scoreless first two minutes of the second frame until back-to-back layups from Lucas Lesko and Jack Argento gave the Colonels their first lead since the early minutes of the first half. After this, the Blue and Gold never looked back, and eventually ran away with it.
Cayden Merrifield added to the score with two three pointers from deep, giving him 15 points overall in the game.
The Colonels had three double-digit scorers with Merrifield, Lesko and Santaniello scoring over 10 points each. Adding to the Colonel offense, Joey Zvorsky and Jack Argento provided three assists each. Lesko also had 10 rebounds, giving him a double-double.
For the Royals, there was no stopping Jon Spatola. The speedy guard had 20 points on the night. Leading Scranton in rebounds and steals was Mason Thompson, with nine and six, respectively.
The Colonels improved to 20-6 on the season after, giving head coach Izzi Metz his first 20 win season at the helm of the program. It’s the first 20 win season since the 2000-01 season. That year, the Colonels made it to the second round of the DIII national championship.
On the other side of the Landmark bracket, Susquehanna will take on Drew after defeating Moravian in the other first round game last night.
For a chance to contend for the Landmark Conference title, the Colonels will make their way to Washington to face Catholic University. The Colonels are 0-2 against the Cardinals this year, and will look to overcome what is bound to be a great matchup. Tip-off for the semi-final matchup is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27.
Tickets are available from the Landmark Conference at www.landmarkconference.org.