Penn State Scranton Men’s Basketball Drops Conference Opener to Hazleton

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On a chilly Wednesday night in the electric city, the Penn State Scranton Lions men's basketball team fell to the visiting Penn State Hazleton squad 80-60 to kick-off their crucial conference schedule. With the defeat, Scranton sees their overall record drop to 3-2 and 0-1 in the all-important conference play, as the Lions lost on their home court for the first time in the 2022-2023 season after riding high last weekend capturing their tip-off tournament championship.

The contest was a tight nail-biter in the first half of play, as Scranton only trailed Hazleton by a mere four points, 35-31, after the game's first 20 minutes. However, in their dominant second half, Hazleton seized control of the ball game by outscoring the Lions by 16 points, 45-29, to give their squad the 20 point cushion they would enjoy when the game clock went to all zeroes.

For the Lions from Scranton, their offense was held to just one player who scored in double figures on the day, as their sophomore big man Marcus Delesline provided a stellar low post presence all game long. Delesline led the way, as he recorded a double-double, scoring a team-high 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, to go along with his two assists, and a steal, while shooting a highly efficient 6-8 from the field in his gritty 25 minutes of play.

Meanwhile on the Hazleton side of things, they had four players, all of them sophomores, score in double digits, as Jahdon Jerome, Aiden Wiktor, Colin Johnson, and Donovan Cumberbatch led the way on offense. Jerome scored a game-high 19 points on an impressive 9-13 shooting from the field, to go along with his four rebounds, three assists, and a steal in his stalwart 29 minutes on the floor. Wiktor matched Jerome's game-high 19 points, to go along with his three boards, three assists, a block, and made four out of his seven shots from three point land. Johnson put up 11 points, six rebounds, a trio of assists, a steal, and connected on one of his six shots from beyond the arc. Last but certainly not least, Cumberbatch filled up the stat sheet, as he tallied 10 points, four assists, two boards, two steals, and hit on two of his three attempts from down town.

Now head coach Chris Sload and his 3-2 Penn State Scranton men's basketball ball club will look to bounce back in their next big matchup, when they host conference foe Penn State Beaver this upcoming Friday, November 18^th, with tip-off scheduled for 8pm. Meanwhile head coach Jeffrey Rush and his 2-1 Penn State Hazleton squad will look to continue their winning ways when they host conference rival Penn State Du Bois this Friday night at 8pm.