SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The Susquehanna University men's basketball team struggled to find an offensive rhythm Saturday afternoon and The Catholic University of America did what no other Landmark Conference school had done yet this season – hand Susquehanna its first league loss of 2019-20. The River Hawks (12-5, 5-1 LC) saw their four-game win streak snapped, succumbing to a 64-59 setback at home to Catholic (6-11, 2-4 LC).
 
Susquehanna 59, Catholic 64
 
How It Happened
First Half

• Susquehanna's biggest lead of the game was 5-2 at 19:00 when sophomore guard Lukas Yurasits (New York, N.Y./Berkeley Carroll) connected on a layup in the paint.
• Back-to-back three-pointers and a Frank Lumaj jumper put the Cardinals up 10-5 at 14:39 before eight straight points, including four by Yurasits, returned SU to a three-point advantage at 11:57 while a layup by sophomore forward Wes Simons (Jefferson Township, Pa./Scranton Prep) maintained the River Hawks' three-point lead a minute later.
• Catholic jumped out to a 21-15 advantage at 8:12 behind an old-fashioned three-point play by Zach Spooner and two consecutive triples.
• Junior captain Bryce Butler (Abingdon, Md./Suffield Academy) pulled his team within one 42 seconds later but Susquehanna could not reclaim the lead as the Cardinals closed out the half by outscoring the hosts, 11-7.

 
Halftime

• Yurasits led all players with 12 points while David Angelo, Lumaj, and Spooner each had six points to lead Catholic.
• The River Hawks shot 32.4-percent from the floor, making just three of their 18 three-point field goals attempted in the half.
• CUA posted a 46.4-field goal percentage, including 5-of-13 from downtown.
• The Cardinals, who entered the game leading the conference with 40.3 rebounds per game, owned a 22-16 rebounding margin.

 
Second Half

• Catholic stretched its lead to 10 within the first two minutes before junior captain Matt LaCorte (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) knocked down his first three-pointer of the day to close the gap to 37-30 at 18:14.
• A 7-1 spurt by the Cardinals over the next five minutes gave the visitors its biggest lead of the game – a 13-point margin (44-31).
• After a Lumaj jumper in the paint maintained Catholic's 13-point advantage, Susquehanna worked the deficit down to a manageable six points (52-46) with 3:31 left in the game on a combined nine points by Butler (5) and Yurasits.
• The Cardinals rebuilt a double-digit margin, leading by 10 with 1:46 to go and then again with 27 ticks on the clock after SU had pulled within 59-53 at 1:10 on a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Danny Frauenheim (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J./Point Pleasant Beach).
• Susquehanna notched six of the final seven points of the game thanks to consecutive three-pointers by junior guard Mike Kempski (West Chester, Pa./Salesianum).

 
Inside the Box Score

• The River Hawks were on par with their league-best 10.3 steals per game as SU forced 19 Cardinal turnovers and came up with 10 steals.
• Susquehanna, who came into the game leading the Landmark with 81.3 points per game, was held to its lowest point total of the season.
• Additionally, the River Hawks were held well below their conference-leading three-point field goal percentage (39.1%) and free throw percentage (78.2%) as SU shot 25-percent from downtown and went 8-of-13 (61.5%) from the charity stripe.
• Catholic finished the game with a +8 rebounding margin (45-37) as Riley Hayes hauled in a team-best seven rebounds.
• The Cardinals have now won three of the last five meetings and leads the all-time series 21-18.

 
Top Performers

• Yurasits recorded his first career double-double with game-highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds. His 10 boards are a career-high as well.
• LaCorte, Butler and Kempski all finished with 10 points while LaCorte added seven caroms and a team-best two steals.
• Butler contributed six rebounds as well while Frauenheim chipped in eight points and game-best six assists.
• Angelo tallied 13 points to lead Catholic as the Cardinals put a stop to their two-game skid.

 
Up Next for the River Hawks

• Jan. 29 vs. Moravian (8-9, 3-3 LC) – Selinsgrove, Pa. / Orlando W. Houts Gymnasium – Landmark Conference game – 7:00 p.m.

 
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