SELINSGROVE, PA (November 16, 2021) -- The Susquehanna University men's basketball team forced 29 turnovers Tuesday in its 2021-22 home opener against Lebanon Valley College, turning those into 39 points as the River Hawks rolled to an 87-69 non-conference victory in action from O.W. Houts Gymnasium. 

The contest was the first in Houts Gymnasium for the River Hawks in 635 days, upping their home win streak to six dating back to the 2019-20 season. The contest was a coming out party for junior Howie Rankine, Jr. as he finished with a career-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting including hitting 2-of-3 from behind the arc. His scoring output wasn't the only thing on display, as the guard added five boards, two blocks while tying for the team lead with six thefts. Senior guard Lukas Yurasits was stellar as well, as he poured in 16 of his game-high 27 points in the second half, going 11-of-17 from the field. 

Senior Jay Martin was strong for the River Hawks, showing his importance to the team when he's on the floor by leading all players with a +27 scoring margin. Martin stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and six steals on the evening. 

The contest started out all River Hawks, as SU (2-0) tallied the first 13 points as the first eight came from senior guard Danny Frauenheim. LVC (1-3) clawed back into the contest with nine straight to make it a five-point game but SU quickly pushed its edge back out to double-digits. Susquehanna led by as many as 15 points late in the first stanza at 35-20 after a lay-up from Rankine but the Dutchmen rattled off the final 10 points of the half capped by a 60-foot three-pointer by Collin Jones at the buzzer to send the contest to the break at 35-30 SU. 

Susquehanna started the second period on a 10-2 run to push the advantage into double figures less than three minutes following the intermission after a triple from Yurasits. The lead would swell all the way up to as much as 24 with 5:13 to play on another three from Yurasits as SU pulled away for the victory. The win over Lebanon Valley was its 30th in program history, in a series that dates back to 1905. It was also the third-straight win over the Dutchmen, and first since a 74-69 victory over LVC in 2007 when the teams were both in the Middle Atlantic Conference. 

Frauenheim scored all 13 of his points in the first half, going 5-of-10 from the floor while adding four helpers. SU shot 46.6 percent (34-73) from the field on the evening, including hitting 11 triples on 33 attempts. The 18 steals for SU were the most in a game since picking up 24 against Penn College on November 16, 2012. The River Hawks led for all but the first 23 seconds of the contest. First-year Isaiah Oluajayi came off the bench to score his first career points with a driving lay-up, while sophomore Noah Klinewski also drilled a three for his first points as a River Hawk. First-year Cooper Haberern added a career-high six boards. 

Jones led the Dutchmen on the night with 19 points and 12 rebounds, as Ryan Harder came off  the bench to post 10 points. LVC shot a respectable 48.2 percent from the floor, but the turnover number was too much to overcome. 

Up Next

• The River Hawks continue a busy week of action Thursday evening, welcoming in Centennial Conference opponent Muhlenberg College (2-2) at 7 p.m. in non-conference action from O.W. Houts Gymnasium. 

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