SELINSGROVE, PA (December 3, 2022) – The Susquehanna University men's basketball began Landmark Conference play for the season with a home game against Elizabethtown College on Saturday afternoon. Coming into the day 3-3, the River Hawks ultimately came up short in a neck-and-neck affair with the Blue Jays, falling by a one-point margin, 57-56.

The score would stay close throughout, with the score knotted at 30-30 at halftime and no team ever leading by more than eight points at any time during the game. Susquehanna would struggle from the field throughout the game, finishing with a team shooting percentage of 33.3, compared to a mark of 44.9 for Elizabethtown. However, SU would get 60 shot attempts to just 49 for E-Town, meaning the River Hawks made 20 field goals to E-Town's 22, keeping the score close. Susquehanna would also make one more three-pointer than the Blue Jays and make 12 free throws to E-Town's 10.

A huge advantage for SU came in rebounding, as the grabbed 45 compared to just 31 for the Blue Jays. This would help to mitigate the advantage that Elizabethtown had in shooting efficiency. An unusually quiet night from SU's leading scorer Howie Rankine, Jr. meant that Quincy Haughton would carry the load, being the only double-digit scorer for SU with 14 points.

After falling behind in the early minutes of the second half, Susquehanna would surge back thanks to some made free throws from Pat Corbett, Brandon Lavitt, and Audric Washington, along with a layup from Lavitt to take the lead. A three from Haughton and two straight jumpers from Lavitt would give SU an eight-point lead with just over ten minutes left. However, the scoring would go dry for the next five minutes as Elizabethtown slowly worked their way back, with the score then reaching 49 to 47 in favor of SU. Marcus Mitchell would score four straight points to help restore the lead to six, but the Blue Jays answered back with two makes of their own. Rankine, Jr. would go to the line with 2:46 on the clock and go 1 for 2, making the score 54-51. E-Town then scored six unanswered points over the next 1:30 to take the lead back for the first time since the beginning of the second half. With 39 seconds on the clock, Susquehanna would come out of a time out and see Haughton make a layup with 00:27 on the clock, making the deficit one. They would then get the break they needed as Elizabethtown would miss the front half of a one-and-one at the foul line and give Susquehanna a chance to score to win. Rankine, Jr. would take on the chance, driving into the paint to put up a heavily contested layup that missed the mark. Lavitt would grab the offensive board with just five seconds left, but his attempt at a final shot would also go wayward as time expired, seeing the game come to a breathless and disappointing end for Susquehanna.

Now 3-4, SU will hit the road this week to try and get back to .500 on the young season. They'll visit Swarthmore College on Wednesday evening for a non-conference matchup.

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--RIVER HAWKS--