SCRANTON, Pa. – For the first time in six years, the Ursinus College men's basketball team is off to a winning start. Junior forward Patrick Mekongo (Yaounde, Cameroon/Pope John XIII) poured in a career-high 18 points, leading five players in double figures as the Bears used a strong closing stretch to scratch out an 83-80 victory in a thrilling Scranton Invitational opener against Stevens. Ursinus, which prevailed in its season opener for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign, will take on the host Royals, a 94-68 winner over Bryn Athyn, in tomorrow's championship game.
Ursinus (1-0) opened up a double-digit advantage (16-6) on two Mekongo free throws at the 13:32 mark of the first half, during which they led by as many as a dozen before taking a 40-33 edge into intermission. But the Ducks came quacking back in a second half that featured six ties and eight lead changes, pulling in front for the first time at 70-68 on a three-pointer by junior Evan Klimchak with 4:56 to play. Stevens led, 76-74, after another trey at the 3:38 mark, but freshman Eric Williams (Plainfield, N.J./The Hun School) came up clutch for the Bears, burying the go-ahead triple to make it 77-76 with 2:46 remaining. Ursinus never trailed again.
Senior Malik Draper (Scranton, Pa./Scranton) produced a steal on the ensuing possession and set up Mekongo for a breakaway layup. After the teams traded empty trips, Draper forced another turnover, stripping Stevens freshman Kevin Florio and taking it the other way for two, giving Ursinus an 81-76 cushion with 1:06 showing on the clock. The Bears held on from there to secure a hard-earned triumph.
Draper stuffed the stat sheet in a homecoming for the former area star, matching Mekongo with 18 points and adding eight rebounds, three assists, and four steals for the Bears, who forced 19 Duck turnovers while committing only nine of their own. Another Scranton-area native, junior guard Matt Knowles (Waverly, Pa./Scranton Prep) contributed 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a perfect 5-of-5 from the line, also handing out four assists.
Sophomore forward Joseph LoStracco (Chalfont, Pa./Archbishop Wood) was a force inside, registering his second career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. LoStracco also dished out five assists and recorded a career-best six blocks. Classmate Brian Rafferty (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton) supplemented 11 points with a game-high seven assists in 31 minutes of turnover-free action. Williams connected on a trio of triples to finish with nine points in his Bear debut.
Mekongo was the breakout star, however, converting on seven of his nine attempts from the field and going 4-of-5 at the line, part of a 30-6 advantage in free throw attempts for Ursinus. He chipped in five rebounds, an assist, and a steal off the bench. His career nigh helped offset matching 27-point performances from Klimchak and junior Patrick Barron, who combined to shoot 21-of-35 from the field.
Ursinus looks to build on its fast start and capture the tournament title with a stiff test against Scranton, which received votes in the D3hoops.com preseason poll. The teams' most recent meeting was an NCAA Tournament nailbiter in 2003; the Royals eked out a 77-75 verdict in the second round. Tip-off for the title game is set for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 14.