SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The 2019-20 campaign came to a close for the Susquehanna University men's basketball team Saturday night in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Second Round. Susquehanna (21-8) trimmed a 14-point deficit down to three in the final seven minutes of the game but could not complete the rally in falling 77-73 to No. 9 Wittenberg University (28-2), the all-time winningest NCAA Division III men's basketball program.


 
Sophomore guard Lukas Yurasits (New York, N.Y./Berkeley Carroll) led a trio of River Hawks in double-digit scoring as Yurasits tallied 22 points for his fourth consecutive 20-point performance to go along with five rebounds. SU had its eight-game win streak halted as the River Hawks end the 2019-20 season with a 21-8 record for the program's third 20-win season under the leadership of Frank Marcinek, who completed his 31st season at Susquehanna.
 
SU was making its eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and first since the program's Sweet 16 run in 2017. The River Hawks are now 9-8 in NCAA postseason action. The River Hawks gained the Landmark Conference's automatic qualifying bid with their 86-69 victory over the University of Scranton in the 2020 Landmark Conference Championship game on Feb. 29 for the program's first-ever Landmark crown.
 
Susquehanna 73, Wittenberg 77
 
How It Happened
First Half

• The River Hawks came into Wittenberg's Pam Evans Smith Arena and built a 25-16 advantage at 8:25 on the strength of 10 points from Yurasits, who knocked down a pair of three-pointers. This was Susquehanna's largest lead of the game.
• Wittenberg responded with a 20-8 run as Connor Seipel took over for the Tigers, scoring the final 15 points of the half, including an emphatic dunk with 36 seconds left, to send the hosts into the locker room with a 36-33 lead at halftime.

 
Halftime

• Seipel led all scorers with 19 points at the break as he was 7-of-8 from the field and handed Witt a 24-14 advantage in the paint. He also grabbed six rebounds to give the Tigers a 16-12 edge in rebounding.
• Yurasits finished with his 10 points in the opening run to lead SU while senior captain Zachary Knecht (Parkland, Fla./Stoneman Douglas) added six points and five boards.
• The Tigers shot 56.5-percent to Susquehanna's 41.9-percent while neither team was sharp from downtown as SU was 3-of-9 and Wittenberg was 1-of-8.
• Witt went to the line 11 times and made nine with Seipel's 5-for-5 effort leading the way.

 
Second Half

• A Yurasits layup kept the River Hawks within three (40-37) at 16:42 before Wittenberg outscored the visitors, 27-16, over the next 10 minutes to establish its biggest lead of the game – a 14-point margin (67-53) at 6:59.
• Susquehanna put together a 9-0 run behind five straight points from Yurasits to close the gap to 67-62 with 2:30 remaining in the game as the Tigers missed six straight shots, including three three-point shots.
• An old-fashioned three-point play by Landon Martin put Witt up by eight with two minutes to go, however, the River Hawks would not go away and worked the lead down to four three times over the next minute and a half.
• After 1-for-2 at the line by Jordan Pumroy to make it 76-71 with 13 seconds to go, sophomore Jay Martin (Columbia, Md./River Hill) was fouled on a three-point shot and Martin went 2-for-3 to make it a one-possession game with six ticks remaining.

 
Inside the Box Score

• Wittenberg won the battle of the boards, 39-23, as Seipel hauled in a game-best 14 rebounds. The Tigers grabbed 11 offensive caroms, which led to 20 second chance points for the home team.
• Susquehanna forced 20 Witt turnovers, which resulted in 18 points for the River Hawks.
• SU made it to the free throw line 17 times, missing only once, to keep pace with Wittenberg but the River Hawks' three-point shooting woes continued with only five triples tonight.
• Behind Seipel's game-high 33 points, Wittenberg controlled the paint by a 48-34 margin.
• Wittenberg now leads the series with the River Hawks, 3-0.

 
Top Performers

• Martin came off the bench to contribute 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting plus two boards and two assists while Knecht put up 14 points and nine rebounds in his final game as a River Hawk.
• Sophomore guard Danny Frauenheim (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J./Point Pleasant Beach) chipped in six points, four assists, and two steals.
• Seipel led the way with a double-double as the Tigers, who are making their 30th NCAA Tournament appearance, won their second straight.

 
Up Next for the River Hawks

• Season Complete

 
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