SELINSGROVE, Pa. – For the first time since the 1995-96 season, the Susquehanna University men's basketball team is a conference champion! Susquehanna (20-7) captured the 2020 Landmark Conference Men's Basketball Championship title Saturday night with an 86-69 victory over the third-seeded University of Scranton Royals (19-8) for their seventh consecutive win.
 
This is the first-ever Landmark crown in the program's history while sophomore guard Lukas Yurasits (New York, N.Y./Berkeley Carroll) was named the MVP after leading the top-seeded River Hawks with a game-high 27 points.
 
The River Hawks grabbed the Landmark's automatic qualifying bid with tonight's triumph. Yurasits and the rest of the team will tune in to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship selection show on Monday, March 2, at 12:30 p.m. on NCAA.com to see who Susquehanna will face next as the 64-team bracket will be revealed.
 
Susquehanna 86, Scranton 69
 
How It Happened
First Half

• The lead changed six times in the first 10 minutes as Susquehanna led by as many as six and the Royals owned a four-point lead (15-11) at 11:57.
• Senior captain Zachary Knecht's (Parkland, Fla./Stoneman Douglas) fast-break layup off a steal by junior captain Bryce Butler (Abingdon, Md./Suffield Academy) returned the lead in favor of the River Hawks at 10:07, sparking a 17-9 run to put SU ahead, 31-19, with 4:47 left in the half.
• Yurasits (6 pts.), Butler (4 pts.), and sophomore guard Danny Frauenheim (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J./Point Pleasant Beach) combined for 15 points in the run while Susquehanna's defense flustered Scranton into 2-of-5 from the field with six turnovers.
• Jackson Danzig made the first of a one-and-one and then made the second to ignite a 13-3 run to pull within 34-32 with 52 seconds remaining as Danzig drained a three-point shot.
• Sophomore center Wes Simons (Jefferson Township, Pa./Scranton Prep) would send the River Hawks into the locker room with a 36-32 advantage at halftime.

 
Halftime

• Yurasits dropped 13 of his 25 points in the first 20 minutes on 4-of-7 shooting, including three triples. Knecht added seven as SU shot 48.3-percent from the field, including 5-of-10 from downtown.
• The Royals, who leads the conference with a 47.4-field goal percentage, shot 47.6-percent with four three-pointers to stay on Susquehanna's heels as Logan Bailey led the way for Scranton with 11 points.
• Scranton also posted a 17-11 rebounding margin while going to the free throw line 10 times and only missing twice.
• Eleven Royal turnovers turned into 11 points for SU.

 
Second Half

• The Royals opened up the second half with an 11-6 run to reclaim a 43-42 lead at 17:23 on a three-point shot by Jack Brockett.
• That would be the last lead for the visitors as the River Hawks responded with a 25-13 run over the next nine minutes to recoup a double-digit margin, 67-56, with less than nine minutes to go on a Knecht layup.
• A 4-for-4 effort at the line by Kyle DeVerna cut the lead to nine at 7:24 but Scranton wouldn't get any closer as Susquehanna scored 17 of the game's final 26 points.

 
Inside the Box Score

• Susquehanna's stifling defense was on display yet again, forcing the Royals into 24 turnovers and 20 less shot attempts than the hosts. In all, the River Hawks tallied 16 steals, one shy of their season-high set in Wednesday's semifinal matchup with Moravian College.
• The River Hawks shot nearly 51-percent for the game, including going 10-of-18 from behind the three-point line.
• Scranton won the rebounding battle, 33-25, as Matthew Mancuso, the league's second-leading rebounder, grabbed a game-best 11 boards.
• Scranton leads the series with the River Hawks, 64-32, with Susquehanna now winning four of the last five match-ups. The Royals had snapped a three-game skid against SU with their 66-62 overtime win on Feb. 5 in Scranton. Additionally, Scranton came into tonight's action with a 3-1 record over the River Hawks in Landmark playoff action, including a 2-0 mark in title games.

 
Top Performers

• Four starters scored in double digits for the River Hawks.
• This was Yurasits' second consecutive 20-point performance as he finished shooting 8-of-15, including 4-of-6 from downtown, while going 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. He also added three boards and two steals.
• Knecht finished his Landmark Conference career strong with 15 points, a team-best seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals while Butler contributed 14 points, a team-high five steals, and four caroms.
• Frauenheim chipped in 10 points, five assists, and two steals.
• Mancuso finished his career with a double-double on 19 points and 11 boards while Bailey tallied 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting as the Royals' two-game win streak came to an end.

 
Up Next for the River Hawks

• Mar. 6-7 at NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament First-/Second-Round

 
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