Brockett's 3 sends Royals to title game

Mar. 4—SCRANTON — Looking back, it's not how Jack Brockett responded in the biggest moment of the University of Scranton's basketball season that surprised him.

It's how few people were anywhere near him when he did it.

On a Wednesday night where it seemed like the Royals and Catholic University had to fight for everything they got, where they slugged it out for 40 minutes in regulation, then well into the second overtime, it was the junior guard averaging less than a half-dozen points per game that made the difference. Brockett broke open a one-point game by draining a wide-open 3-pointer with 30 seconds left, providing the second-seeded Royals with the final big moment in an 87-80 win over the No. 3 Cardinals in a Landmark Conference semifinal loaded with them at the John Long Center.

Logan Bailey scored 18 points to lead Scranton, and Stephen Braunstein and Ryan Ems added 13 apiece. But none of those scores were the dagger Brockett's 3 provided.

"That was huge," raved head coach Carl Danzig, whose Royals will face top-seeded Drew on the road in Saturday's Landmark championship game. "It definitely gave us the energy we needed to get through the rest of the game. Thankfully, our guy Jack got it done."

From the game's early stages, it sure did seem like a big moment late in the game would determine who'd be making the trip to Madison, New Jersey, for the title tilt. Behind the fearlessness of freshman guard Colby Martins and the smooth stroke of fellow freshman swingman Jesse Hafenmeister, the Cardinals sprinted out to a 24-13 lead, taking advantage of a third consecutive cold open for the Royals.

But Scranton chipped away at the deficit, getting it down to three points by halftime. Less than 1:30 into the second half, forward Ryan Ems' layup gave the Royals their first lead, 35-34, and set a blueprint for their biggest run of the game. They'd lead by 11 with 12:48 to play, but they'd make just one more shot over the next six minutes, and that lead evaporated.

At no point in the last 1:49 of regulation, the first overtime or the first 4:30 of the second overtime did either team lead by more than 3 points. Free throws that could have iced the game for the Royals in regulation clanged frustratingly off the rim.

Back and forth. Big moments and bad ones. For both sides, it was like that until Brockett's experience and preparation melded together with the Royals clinging to an 81-80 edge in the closing minute of the second overtime.

A good look for 6-foot-9 freshman center Frank Lumaj didn't result in a lead for Catholic, which had to assume what was coming next. Brockett grabbed the rebound — one of his 10 — and the Royals pushed the ball up court to Bailey. When the Royals needed a basket all night, and really all season, the former Scranton Prep standout provided it, usually with his ability to drive to the hoop and dump the ball off to a waiting post player if necessary.

This time, Catholic knew it. As Bailey drove toward the hoop, their tenacious defense crashed in on him. Behind the scenes, Brockett ran, from the left corner to the right. And as Bailey darted for the hoop, Brockett slid to the wing.

Bailey saw him, and tossed a pass. A rare uncontested shot sailed through the air and never hit the rim as it sank through the net, eliciting a fist pump and a yell from Brockett and a rare exhale from the Scranton bench.

"You just hope to capitalize on any type of look like that you can get," Brockett said. "It was huge for my confidence. My coaches are great with allowing me and our shooters to have the green light when we're open. They're confident it will go in, and we have to be, as well."

After three straight comeback wins, that type of confidence isn't exclusive to Brockett. The Royals feel it, too. And, they know they'll need it to bring the championship back to Scranton on Saturday.

"We hope we get off to a better start than we did the last couple of games," Ems said. "We're going to go in their strong and use this momentum to keep going."

Scranton 87, Catholic 80, 2OT

Catholic (4-4) — C. Martins 7-19 5-5 19, J. Hafemeister 7-20 0-0 14, J. Timby 5-10 0-0 14, J. Kouba 3-6 0-0 9, J. Melady 3-7 0-0 8, T. Kelly 2-10 3-4 7, D. Sullivan 2-4 1-2 5, F. Lumaj 1-4 1-2 3, T. Abato 0-1 1-2 1, P. Buckley 0-0 0-0 0, J. Fitzpatrick 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 30-81 11-15 80.

Scranton (7-2) — L. Bailey 8-18 1-1 18, J. Brockett 5-10 3-5 16, R. Ems 4-9 5-8 13, S. Braunstein 5-9 0-0 13, J. Danzig 4-9 0-1 9, B. Monaghan 2-7 4-6 8, P. Hartrick 2-2 2-2 8, T. Parland 1-1 0-0 2, J. Lambert 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 31-66 15-23 87.

Catholic 34 36 3 7 — 80

Scranton 31 39 3 14 — 87

3-point shooting: CAT 9-18 (J. Timby 4-6, J. Kouba 3-3, J. Melady 2-5, C. Martins 0-2, J. Hafemeister 0-2); SCR 10-26 (S. Braunstein 3-6, J. Brockett 3-6, P. Hatrick 2-2, L. Bailey 1-3, J. Danzig 1-4, J. Lambert 0-1, B. Monaghan 0-4). Rebounds: CAT 48 (O'Sullivan 7); SCR 44 (Brockett 10). Assists: CAT 8 (C. Martins 4); SCR 18 (J. Danzig 6). Steals: CAT 11 (J. Hafemeister, J. Melady, J. Timby, T. Kelly, 2) SCR 6 (R. Ems, S. Braunstein, 2). Blocks: CAT 2 (J. Timby, J. Fitzpatrick); SCR 6 (R. Ems 3).

Contact the writer:

dcollins@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9125;

@DonnieCollinsTT;

@PennStateTT