SELINSGROVE, PA (February 22, 2023) – The Susquehanna men's basketball team fell in a hard-fought matchup on Wednesday night, coming up short against Juniata College in their Landmark Conference Semifinal matchup. The Eagles escaped Selinsgrove with a two-point win, holding on despite a late comeback effort from the River Hawks for a final score of 58-56.
Juniata proved to be undaunted by their underdog status on the road from the opening tip, as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held SU off the board for nearly three-and-a-half minutes. The River Hawks were finally able to respond with a Brandon Lavitt layup before tying the game on a three-pointer from Quincy Haughton. Susquehanna continued to hold the momentum as the half wore on, putting together a nine-point run to reach their largest lead of the game of seven points. The score would sit at 18-12 in SU's favor with 10 minutes left in the first half, but Juniata began to slowly push back, just edging out an advantage as the team's traded tough defensive sets. The Eagles reclaimed the lead with 5:12 left, and the teams would then trade it back-and-forth six times over the remainder of the half. Two straight scores from Susquehanna gave them a one-point advantage with 33 seconds left, but Juniata would hit a three-pointer in the final seconds of the half to take a 32-30 lead into halftime.
After Howie Rankine, Jr. opened the second half with a layup to tie the game, Juniata would begin their own scoring run, tallying seven-straight points to put SU on the back foot. The River Hawks fought back with three made free throws by Rankine, Jr. but Juniata resumed their hot stretch of offense with six more unanswered points, stretching out to the first double-digit lead for either team. Trailing 47-37 with 12:54 left, Susquehanna answered with back-to-back made three pointers by Luke Edwards and Jackson Van Wagener, cutting the lead back to just four. Juniata countered with a strong stretch from forward Chase Husted, who scored four straight points while dominating the glass.
Three-point shooting would continue to be SU's route back into the game, as makes by Quincy Haughton and Marcus Mitchell brought the River Hawks back within one possession at a score of 54-52 with 6:16 on the clock. The two squads, both highly competitive on the defensive end, would then clamp down to force a combined stretch of nearly four minutes without a point for either squad. The duck was finally broken by Haughton, who drained a mid-range jumper with 2:41 on the clock to bring SU within one. But they could never quite surmount that one, as Juniata responded with their own make to push the lead back to three, Lavitt answered with a layup to bring it back to one, but once more the Eagles matched it. With 1:11 on the clock, Haughton would make a free throw to set the score at 58-56, but it would remain there until the final whistle. SU would get three chances on offense to tie or take the lead as they stopped Juniata from scoring any further, but couldn't seem to find the mark themselves and a last second driving layup by Rankine, Jr. would dramatically rim out as the horn sounded.
Haughton finished his senior season with a team-leading scoring performance, tallying 14 points, including three made three-pointers. He and Lavitt would also share the team-high in rebounds with five. Rankine, Jr. would be the other River Hawk in double-digit scoring with 11, hard-fought points for the senior who was double-teamed by the Juniata defense for most of the night. He also tallied a team-high five assists.
SU finishes the year 16-10 overall, coming short of an opportunity to defend their conference crown and go for a third-straight title. However, a team that saw plenty of key contributions from first-year players will undoubtedly aspire to sit firmly in the playoff picture again next season, with just three seniors slated to graduate.
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--RIVER HAWKS--
