Men's Basketball Falls In Season Opener at Marywood, 80-69

Scranton, Pa. – Kendall Farrell had a double-double and Thomas Swartz led all scorers with a game-high 16 points asMarywood University downed Penn State Lehigh Valley 80-69 in the season opener for both teams.

Farrell had 12 points and a game-best 12 boards in just 22 minutes of action, and was joined by Swartz and JeremyRingland (14 points) in double figures for the Pacers.  Ringland was 7-of-12 from the field while Swartz knocked down a game-high 4 three pointers as part of his 6 of 12 night from the floor.  Farrell was 6-of-7 from the floor as Marywood shot 53.1% from the floor on the night.

The Pacers (1-0) out-rebounded the Lions by a 41-28 margin, which included a 30-22 advantage on the defensive glass and an 11-6 margin on offensive boards.  The Pacers led for over 36 minutes of Wednesday night's opening contest.

Tarvis Gilbert matched Swartz's game-high as he posted 16 points for the visitors.  AJ Molettiere (14) and Jonathan Buieadded 12 for the visitors, who fell to 0-1 on the year.  Molettiere added a game high six steals in the loss.

With the game tied 5-5 in the early going, a layup from Joey Monaghan gave the Pacers a lead they would not relinquish.  That lay-in sparked a 11-0 run for Marywood, putting the Pacers up 16-5 just 7:15 into the contest.

Marywood maintained a double-digit lead for the final 7:12 of the opening half and went into the break up 13, 46-33.

Penn State Lehigh Valley found themselves down as many as 16 early in the second, but then methodically chipped away at the Pacers' lead and eventually cut the home side lead to three (54-51) with 10:30 to go.

Despite getting to within three again (56-53) with 9:43 left, the visitors could not regain the lead and Marywood kept the Lions at bay, eventually stretching their lead back to double figures.