SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (December 20, 2022) – The Susquehanna men's basketball team closed out the 2022 portion of their season with a victory in their second game at the Puerto Rico Clasico. Facing Lycoming College for the second time in just over a month, the River Hawks got the best of the Warriors again, winning 64-53.

SU got off to a hot start, making three of their first five field goal attempts, taking the lead at the 17:24 mark and never relinquishing it. Quincy Haughton would lead the charge in scoring, tallying eight of Susquehanna's first 15 points. They would stretch their lead out to 10 points halfway through the first half, but Lycoming would push back to narrow the gap to five by the halftime whistle, with the score 32-27 in favor of SU.

Lycoming would score the first four points in the second half to narrow the lead to one point, but they could never completely close the gap and Susquehanna's offense would respond with another strong stretch in the heart of the second half, going 3 of 6 from downtown and getting to the line often, earning 18 free throw attempts in just the second half.

It would be the stifling defense of the River Hawks that gave them the platform to control the game, as they held Lycoming to a lowly 25 percent from the field in the second half, 28.3 percent for the game. The Warriors were also ice cold from beyond the arc, making just six of their 34 attempts from beyond the arc. SU would also rack up six steals and two blocks as Lycoming turned the ball over 16 times, compared to only nine for the River Hawks. Howie Rankine, Jr. would make his influence felt all over the court, leading the way with three steals and also grabbing a team-leading nine rebounds. He and Audric Washington would each score nine points to tie for the second-highest points total for the team, behind Haughton's total of 16.

The River Hawks' lead reached a high of 17 points with just 6:22 remaining in the game, and that would prove to be more than sufficient to close out the game, as Lycoming scored ten points in the remaining time, but the game remained well in-hand with the final gap of 11 points.

A tough overtime loss to Washington & Lee on Monday sees the River Hawks return home from Puerto Rico having gone 1-1 during the trip. They'll now look ahead to 2023 as they prepare for the bulk of their Landmark Conference schedule. They have one final non-conference matchup that will see them begin the year at home, as they'll welcome Delaware Valley University to town on Tuesday, January 3 for a 7:00 pm tipoff.

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--RIVER HAWKS--