Gophers Drop Road Contest Against Royals

SCRANTON, PA- The Goucher College Gophers (0-4 overall, 0-2 conference) fell to the Royals of the University of Scranton (4-1 overall, 1-1 conference) on Saturday afternoon. The Royals defeated the Gophers 83-60.

The Royals scored the first points of the game with a made layup at the basket, but a quick answer from the Gophers started their offensive pursuit with a stolen inbound pass from Darnell Morris Jr. converted into a layup. After a made layup from Morris Jr., Scranton responded with an eight-point run before Jadyss Fifer was able to snag a steal and a quick dunk. A Scranton steal leading to a made jumper sparked a 6-0 scoring run for the Royals. A three pointer from Brian Griffin halted the Scranton scoring run. Scranton continued to build their advantage with a 10-4 stretch. The Gophers climbed back within ten by a Morris Jr. made free throw. Both teams traded baskets back and forth before Scranton went on a 5-0 run to end the half. At the end of the first half the Royals led the Gophers 40-21.

The second half opened with a basket from Liech Kong who was assisted by Morris Jr., but the Royals answered back with a steal and made three. Goucher fired back with a layup from Morris Jr. Foncham Ambe kicked the ball out of the low post to Morris Jr. at the top of the key for a three at the 16:26 mark. Off the bench, Jon Perry added a three of his own. Both teams continued trading baskets and at the 10:31 mark, a Morris Jr. steal led to back-to-back layups. Defensive efforts from Scranton led to transition points to build a 29-point led (41-70). Free throws from Austin Carter and Chima Egeonu kept the Gophers in the offensive hunt, but a three from Scranton kept the double digit lead. First year, Lucas Land scored his first collegiate points off a steal and score. Both teams continued to apply offensive pressure with a Scranton dunk and Carter three assisted by Perry. With just over a minute remaining, first year, JP Prior made an and-one layup. Prior continued his offensive presence with a made jump shot. The last basket of the game was a three by first year Lucas Allen who scored his first collegiate points.  

Morris Jr. led the Gophers in scoring with 15 points to cap off the night, followed by Carter with ten points. Perry led the Gophers with two assists. Egeonu, Fifer and Langston Davis grabbed four rebounds apiece.

Goucher shot 38.0% from the field versus Scranton's 50.8%. From beyond the arc, the Royals went 8-19 while the Gophers went 7-23. Goucher shot 68.2% from the charity stripe compared to Scranton's 68.8%.

The Gophers return to action on Tuesday, November 25^th at home against Ursinus at 6pm.