Dominic Dunn scored 27 points on five made three-pointers and added nine rebounds while Bryce Butler stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, five assists and five steals as the Susquehanna University Men's Basketball team defeated Catholic 87-78 Saturday afternoon at O.W. Houts Gymnasium in Selinsgrove. The win guaranteed the River Hawks a spot in the Landmark Conference playoffs.

How It Happened

• The River Hawks (15-8 Overall, 8-4 Landmark) scored the first bucket of the game on a Butler fast break layup, but it was the Cardinals (9-14, 5-7) who controlled the early going. Trailing 10-6, Tyler Hoagland made a layup and Lukas Yurasits gave the team a lift with back-to-back three-pointers to give the River Hawks an edge.
• The remainder of the half saw Dunn catch fire, as he scored 16 points in the period. Besides single buckets by Dan Frauenheim and John Long, Dunn and Zach Knecht did the rest of the scoring in the first half and the team was able to take a 45-32 lead into the locker room.
• Despite a few missed opportunities in the early portions of the second half, the River Hawks maintained a double-digit lead thanks to Bryce Butler's stellar defense. Butler also got the team going on the offensive side of the ball as well, draining three shots from long distance to give Susquehanna a 57-40 advantage.
• The middle of the second half saw mini-runs by both sides, as a Frauenheim layup gave the River Hawks their largest lead at 65-46.
• With their playoff hopes fading, Catholic began chipping away at the large margin, eventually getting to within single-digits. A layup by Jimmy Golaszewski made it a one-possession game at 81-78 with 34 seconds remaining, but the River Hawks took care of the ball, made stops and made all of their free throws down the stretch to win 87-78.

Inside the Box Score

• Dunn netted 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting and made five three-pointers. He is averaging 21.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in the team's last four contests.
• Bryce Butler completed his seventh game of the year with 3+ steals. He finished with five on the day and added a season-high five assists. He also had 14 points.
• Tyler Hoagland had seven assists on the afternoon, as the team dished out a season-high 23.
• Frauenheim (14), Matt LaCorte (10) and Knecht (10) round out the scorers in double-figures.
• Andre Mitchell led the way for Catholic with 20 points.

 
Up Next for the River Hawks

• Wednesday, February 13^th vs. Moravian –O.W. Houts Gymnasium– Selinsgrove, Pa.– 7 p.m.

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