Huntingdon, Pa. - The Susquehanna University men's basketball team locked up the third seed in the 2019 Landmark Conference Championship Tournament as Matt LaCorte scored 20 points on 60.0-percent shooting from three-point range. However, Susquehanna dropped an 80-68 decision to Juniata College in the regular-season finale Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gymnasium in Huntingdon.

The River Hawks secured the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Landmark Tournament, which begins next Wednesday, February 20 with semifinal action, by virtue of holding the tiebreaker over the University of Scranton. Susquehanna and Scranton finished with identical 9-5 conference records but head-to-head, the River Hawks went 2-0 against Scranton. Therefore, Susquehanna earned the No. 3 seed and Scranton finished as the fourth seed. The River Hawks will travel to second-seeded Moravian College next Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. while Scranton will face top-seeded Drew University in the other semifinal matchup.

How It Happened

• The River Hawks (16-9 Overall, 9-5 Landmark) got off to a fast start over Juniata (9-15, 3-10), drilling their first six three-pointers to kick off the game. The team used that in their favor as they went up 10 within the first seven minutes.
• The Eagles then went on a four-minute run, where they trimmed the SU lead to just three. However, Tyler Hoagland went on to score four straight points to kill Juniata's momentum, giving Susquehanna a seven-point lead with five minutes remaining in the half.
• Juniata was able to use its three-point shooting to its advantage as they went on to hit their next three three-point attempts and leveled the score at 31-31 with 2:52 remaining in the half.
• With the team down by two, Zach Knecht was able to tie up the score at 33-33 heading into the half.
• The Eagles used the intermission to their advantage, as the team went on to score on their next seven field goals.
• Lukas Yurasits went on to hit both of his free throws at 15:22, minimizing the deficit to two.
• The Eagles responded by hitting eight straight attempts to score 20 of the next 26 points and post to two different 14-point leads.
• LaCorte scored the next seven consecutive points in the matchup as Susquehanna trailed by nine late in the matchup.
• Juniata's Paul Martello and John Kelly went on to make a series of free-throws to give the Eagles a 12-point victory.

Inside the Box Score

• LaCorte notched 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting with three three-pointers while hauling in a team-best five rebounds. He averaged 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists this week as he shot 56.0-percent from the field, including 64.3-percent from three.
• Yurasits contributed 13 points as he knocked down three triples and went 4-of-4 at the free throw line.
• Bryce Butler chipped in 10 points to go along with three rebounds and two assists.
• The team went 17-of-19 at the charity stripe, finishing with an 89.5-free throw percentage.

Up Next for the River Hawks

• Wednesday, February 20th at Moravian - Landmark Conference Championship Tournament Semifinal - Johnston Hall - Bethlehem, Pa. - 7 p.m.