Susquehanna Uses Big Offense to Beat Misericordia, 96-89

Susquehanna Head Coach Frank Marcinek's Reaction

SELINSGROVE, Pa. -- Susquehanna University's senior guard Bryan Majors (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) registered a double-double of 21 points and a game-high 10 assists to lead Susquehanna to a 96-89 non-conference men's basketball win over visiting Misericordia University at Orlando W. Houts Gymnasium on Dec. 9.

This marks the second straight game that Majors has scored a career-high 21 points for SU (3-3 overall). He also picked up two rebounds and a game-high four steals against Misericordia (5-3 overall) while going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

Susquehanna (16-for-33) and the Cougars (12-for-22) combined for 28 three-pointers on 55 attempts. Leading the way was Majors and sophomore guard Spenser Spencer (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside), both of whom made a game-high five three-pointers for the Crusaders. Majors went 5-for-10 from long range, while Spencer went 5-for-12.

Misericordia's sophomore guard Jeff Slanovec (Easton, Pa./Freedom) made a team-high four three-balls (on nine attempts). SU's freshman forward J.T. Wilson (Sparta, N.J./Pope John XXIII Regional) also made four three-pointers (on just eight tries).

Spencer ended up with a game-high 29 points and added three rebounds and two steals. Wilson scored 16 points to go with five rebounds and three assists.

Senior forward Dom Del Prete (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) led the Cougars with 25 points and two steals and added seven rebounds.

Slanovec notched 14 points, two boards and four assists, while teammate and junior guard Robbie Johnson (Jackson, Pa./Mountain View) had 15 points and six assists.

Misericordia and Susquehanna shot 64.3 percent and 57.6 percent from the field in the first half, respectively, to tie at 48 after 20 minutes. The teams cooled a bit in the second half, with the Cougars shooting 53.1 percent to the Crusaders' 53.6.

Both teams had 28 rebounds, but SU scored 15 second-chance points to Misericordia's 11. The Crusaders also scored 25 points off of turnovers to the Cougars' 13.

Play went back-and-forth through the early part of the second half, leading to a 68-68 score with 9 minutes, 40 seconds to play.

Susquehanna took the lead for good when Majors drained a three with 9:25 left.

After Johnson made a layup to draw the score to 76-75 with 6:57 left, the Crusaders called a timeout and drew up a three for Spencer that swelled the lead back out.

Majors' three-pointer with 1:44 remaining made the score 91-83, which was SU's largest lead of the game and the beginning of the end for Misericordia.

Susquehanna's junior guard Rob Estep (York, Pa./West York) went 4-for-4 from the field and ended up with 10 points, two steals and a team-high eight rebounds.

Misericordia's sophomore forward Ethan Eichhorst (Drums, Pa./Hazleton Area) led all players with nine boards and added 14 points. Teammate and senior guard Marcus Little (Stroudsburg, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) handed out a team-high seven assists to go with 11 points and two rebounds. Little went 3-for-3 from long range.

Next Games: Friday-Saturday, Dec. 11-12, at Monarch Classic [hosted by King's (Pa.)]

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