ALLENTOWN, PA (November 12, 2022) – Susquehanna men's basketball hit the road for the first away game of their 2022-23 season, traveling to face Muhlenberg College on Saturday afternoon. Despite a close fight for much of the game, SU would ultimately fall behind toward the end of the game and be dealt a 71-56 loss, moving to 1-1 on the young season.
Muhlenberg got off to a strong start, scoring the first seven points of the game before SU could respond with two made free throws by Howie Rankine, Jr. The score would reach 10-2 in the Mules' favor before SU added more points, again through free throws, these from Marcus Mitchell. The River Hawks' first bucket from the floor came at the 15:40 mark when Rankine, Jr. made a layup to make the score 10-6 in favor of Muhlenberg. A three-point bucket from his senior counterpart Quincy Haughton made it 10-9, before Howie would score a breakaway layup off of a steal and assist from Mu Salako, giving SU their first lead, albeit only one point. Muhlenberg would kick their offense into gear after that, scoring 26 points in the remaining 13:30 in the half. SU would trail by as many as 11 during that stretch, but Haughton and Rankine, Jr. would combine for nine points in the final two and a half minutes to bring the score to 37-33 Muhlenberg at halftime.
The second half would start as much more of a back-and-forth affair, as Susquehanna pushed to close the gap with the teams trading buckets. SU would pull as close as a single point, trailing 47-46 at the 13:50 mark after another steal gave Salako a breakaway chance that he would dunk thunderously, but they never ended up completing a comeback effort to reclaim the lead. Down 53-50 with 11:24 left after a made jumper by Brandon Lavitt, Susquehanna's scoring would completely dry up for nearly six minutes, as their next score came with 5:35 left in the game as Haughton made a free throw. That would only provide a short respite from the scoring drought, as Muhlenberg scored the next six points over a minute and 23 seconds, making the score 66-51 in favor of the Mules. From there, the River Hawks simply had too little time to get back within striking distance and Muhlenberg had an answer for every bucket. Mitchell slammed home a dunk at 2:32 to make the gap 13, but the Mules responded with a two-point jumper at the other end. Ethan Stoute then hit a three-pointer with 1:46 to make the gap 12, but again, the Mules answered with one of their own thirty seconds later to restore the 15-point lead.
Outside shooting proved to be a big factor in Muhlenberg's advantage, as they went 10 for 21 from long ranger while SU was just 4 for 11 in comparison. Those six makes could all be found in the statline of junior guard Giovanni Rubino, who was a perfect six for six from beyond the arc, scoring a game-high 24 points total. Rankine, Jr. led Susquehanna with 18 points on a perfect five for five shooting performance, adding an eight for eight game from the free throw line. He also had eight rebounds and three assists. Haughton added 15 points and four rebounds. Both would be missing down the stretch in the second half though, as the two fouled out in short succession during the final few minutes. Missing their top scorers and senior guards surely had an effect on the River Hawks' comeback efforts.
Susquehanna will now have a few days to analyze and prepare for their next game, as they'll return home to host the Susquehanna Tip-Off Tournament next weekend. They begin on Friday, November 18 at 8:00 pm as they'll face Lebanon Valley College. They'll then play the next day in either the consolation or championship game depending on their result, facing either Christopher Newport University or Washington & Lee University.
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--RIVER HAWKS--
