Box Score

SCRANTON, Pa. – Susquehanna's men's basketball team did not end its road trip the way it wanted, falling 81-64 to Scranton on Saturday afternoon for its second conference loss of the weekend.

The Crusaders (7-9, 3-2) were plagued by problems from three-point range and at the free throw line, sinking just 14 percent of its treys and less than 64 percent of its free throws.

Rebounds also proved troublesome as SU was edged 38-25, translating into 16 second-chance points by the Royals (12-2, 5-0).

Harvey Pannell (Bloomfield, Conn./St. Thomas More) led Susquehanna with 16 points off the bench, eight of which came at the free throw line. Joining him in double figures were senior Rob Estep (York, Pa./West York/Hobart) and freshman Harley Sellinger (Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain, who added 12 points apiece.

SU opened on an 8-0 run, forcing Scranton to burn a timeout just three minutes into the game. J.T. Wilson's (Sparta, N.J./Pope John XXIII Regional) layup at 15:12 handed SU its first double-digit lead of the game, 12-2. Wilson finished with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Scranton soon found its stride, however, putting together a 7-2 run that included a three-point play from Matt Swaback with 11:34 on the clock for a 14-9 game.

Estep responded with a three-point play of his own on Susquehanna's ensuing possession to keep the Crusaders ahead 17-9 but the Royals' Travis Farrell drained a three to cut it to a three-point SU lead (17-14) with nine minutes to play.

Mike Perillo (Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel), making his first start of the season, came through with a jumper bring his team's lead back to five (23-18) with 5:30 remaining in the half.

With less than two minutes to play in the period, Scranton's Dan Hilferty drained a three to make it 27-25 and a missed three by Wilson translated into a Farrell layup that tied the game at 27-27, the first tie of the afternoon.

Inside the final minute, Estep converted on only one of two free throws and the Royals' Tommy Morgan sank another three for Scranton that gave his squad the 30-28 lead. Wilson had a chance to tie the game but his last-second jumper hit off the rim.

The lead switched hands for the opening minutes of the second half before a Sellinger layup made it 39-35 at the 16-minute mark. A long jumper by Spenser Spencer (Seattle, Wash./Lakeside) less than a minute later upped it to a six-point SU advantage, 41-35.

Sixteen unanswered Scranton points handed a 51-41 lead back to the Royals with less than 12 minutes remaining and proved to be the difference in the game.

The Crusaders struggled to stop the Royals' offense and trailed by 11, 56-45, midway through the half. SU cut it to single digits several times over the final 10 minutes of play, including an E.J. Duncan (East Stroudsburg, Pa./Pope John XXIII Regional) jumper that made it 61-53 under the eight-minute mark.

Unfortunately Scranton was able to maintain a comfortable lead for the majority of the remaining eight minutes and led by double digits for the final seven minutes of the game.

Next game: Friday, Jan. 21 vs. Drew – 5:30 p.m.