SELINSGROVE, PA (February 5, 2022) -- The Susquehanna University men's basketball team put five players in double figures Saturday, as the balanced attacked pushed SU's win streak up to seven with a 72-60 Landmark Conference victory over Juniata College in action from O.W. Houts Gymnasium.

With the win, the River Hawks clinched a spot in the Landmark Conference Tournament later this month and now have a two-game lead on Drew University and Catholic University in the standings with four games to play in the regular season. Also, the River Hawks (17-4, 9-1 Landmark) have won 10 games in a row at home against Landmark foes dating back to 2019-20. 

The River Hawks burst out of the locker room on Saturday, netting the first 12 points over a three-minute stretch, capped by a Jack Van Syckle jumper to seize an early double-digit advantage. The Eagles didn't go away though, battling back to tie the game at 14 with 12:57 to go in the first half on a three-pointer by Kyle Ruggery. On the next possession, senior Lukas Yurasits answered with a three-pointer to put SU back on top. 

The score would be deadlocked again at 17 and 26, but the River Hawks never gave the lead up, taking a six-point lead into the locker room after a jumper by Howie Rankine, Jr. with 1:23 go in the half. Yurasits posted eight points in the first half for the River Hawks, while Van Syckle added six points and six rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. 

After the teams exited the locker rooms for halftime, Susquehanna extended its advantage out to 15 after 5:31 of action in the second half as Dominic Dunn drilled a three-pointer off a Jay Martin assist. SU would add to its lead, eventually taking a game-high edge of 21 points after a Van Syckle layup with 6:17 left. Susquehanna cruised down the stretch, as Juniata never got to within single digits. 

Yurasits finished with 16 points Saturday to lead all scorers in the game, while Van Syckle added 14 points and nine rebounds, as the 6-9 center was 7-of-10 from the floor on the day. Rankine came off the bench to score 12 points in 19 minutes, making five of his seven shots, while Dunn added 11 points, four rebounds and a career-high five steals. First-year Cooper Haberern also tallied eight points, and has knocked down two or more threes in each of the last four games for SU. 

Senior Danny Frauenheim had another strong game, as he tallied 11 points, seven assists and four steals for SU, which shot 47.5 percent (28-59) from the floor Saturday. Susquehanna's three-point shooting excelled Saturday as well, with the hosts going 9-of-21 from deep (42.9 percent). The River Hawks extended its stretch of holding teams under 65 points to six. 

Susquehanna won the fast break point battle Saturday 18-2, much in part to it causing 24 turnover which led to 28 points for the hosts. Michael Montecalvo came off the bench to score a team-high 12 points for Juniata, while the Eagles also got nine points from reserve Tyler Lapetina. Evan Eisenhart and Kyle Ruggery each finished with nine points as well for JC, which shot a blistering 55.6 percent (10-18) from deep but struggled in the paint, making only 12 two-pointers for the game. Gabe Guidinger led the squad with eight rebounds. 

Up Next

• Susquehanna University will look to continue its strong play Wednesday evening in Bethlehem, PA, taking on Moravian University for road Landmark Conference at 7 p.m. February 9. 

Facebook: susquehanna.riverhawks | Instagram: @gosusqu
Twitter: @GOsusqU | Hashtags: #AllIn, #GOSU, #RiverHawkPride

--RIVER HAWKS--