LANCASTER, Pa. – The Susquehanna University men's basketball team advances to the championship game of the Sponaugle New Year's Tournament hosted by Franklin & Marshall College with a dominant victory over the University of Mary Washington Sunday afternoon. Susquehanna (7-3) posted an 87-64 win over the Eagles (8-5) for its third consecutive triumph and a spot in tomorrow's title game.
 
Franklin & Marshall (4-5) was a 70-43 winner over the College of St. Elizabeth (6-3) in today's other matchup and the hosts will take on Susquehanna tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. for the trophy. St. Elizabeth will face Mary Washington in the consolation game at 1:00 p.m.
 
Susquehanna 87, Mary Washington 64
 
How It Happened
First Half

• The River Hawks and Mary Washington traded leads early in the game with the Eagles' last advantage coming at 17:26 on a Riley Welch fast break layup for a 7-5 UMW lead.
• Susquehanna would go on to outscore the Eagles, 39-13, the rest of the half, including a 19-0 run over a nearly eight-and-half-minute long span fueled by nine points from sophomore guard Lukas Yurasits (New York, N.Y./Berkeley Carroll) which was finally slowed down by Mary Washington at 6:58 mark by Colin Coyne's layup.

 
Halftime

• Yurasits led all scorers at the break with 15 points on 5-of-7 sharpshooting while sophomore guard Danny Frauenheim (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J./Point Pleasant Beach) dished out nine of his career-high 12 assists in the first 20 minutes.
• The River Hawks posted a .486 (17-35) field goal percentage in the first half, including 11-of-20 from downtown.

 
Second Half

• Susquehanna continued its dominance, stretching its advantage to as many as 35 (65-30) at 11:05 on a triple by first-year guard Quincy Haughton (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright).
• The River Hawks' bench provided an added boost with 35 of the team's 41 second-half points as sophomore center Wes Simons (Jefferson Township, Pa./Scranton Prep) and Haughton led the way with 10 and 9, respectively.

 
Inside the Box Score

• Susquehanna poured in a season-best 16 three-pointers for the second time this season, finishing 16-of-35 from behind the three-point arc.
• The River Hawks also tallied a season-high 14 steals.
• For the seventh time this season, SU outrebounded its opponent, registering a +4 rebounding margin (44-40) this afternoon.
• Susquehanna is now 2-0 against the Eagles with today's win as the River Hawks picked up an 86-62 win in their first meeting on November 17, 2007.

 
Top Performers

• Yurasits finished with 17 points to lead the River Hawks as he was 6-of-10 from the field, including a career-best five three-pointers for the second time this season. He also added six rebounds.
• Simons contributed career-highs of 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and three boards off the bench while Haughton chipped in season-bests of 12 points and two caroms and knocked a season-high four triples.
• Frauenheim collected a career-best 12 assists, which ranks fourth all-time in program history.
• Welch paced the Eagles with a game-best 18 points while Ra'Shawn Cook notched 12 points in 13 minutes of action off the bench.

 
Up Next for the River Hawks

• Dec. 30 at Franklin & Marshall (4-5) – Lancaster, Pa. / Mayser Center – 3:00 p.m.

 
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