SELINSGROVE, PA (January 9, 2024) – Back in O.W. Houts Gymnasium for the first time in 2024, the Susquehanna men's basketball team weathered first half shooting struggles against their local Landmark rivals, Lycoming College, before erasing an eight-point halftime deficit to claim a 70-65 win over the Warriors and remain undefeated in Landmark Conference play.

Points were hard to come by in the opening minutes for both teams as the offenses struggled to find their scoring touch. SU would be the first team to reach double digits as a Cooper Haberern three made the score 11-8 at the 13:26 mark of the first half. But from there, the River Hawks went cold, scoring just two points over the next five minutes and allowing Lycoming to take the lead for the first time, one they'd hold on to for the rest of the first half and well into the second. After a last second three made the score 32-24 in the Warriors' favor going into the break, SU had been outscored 24-13 in that timeframe. The River Hawks shot just 33 percent from the field, including just two makes from 12 attempts from beyond the arc.

The second half would see SU flip the script, as their shooting caught fire while also being aided by increased turnovers and foul trouble for Lycoming. The River Hawks would outscore the visitors 46-33 in the second half, including a run of eight unanswered points midway through the half to cut Lycoming's lead from 11 to just three with ten and a half minutes to go in the game. They would claim the lead just a minute and a half later, with a Billy Anderson layup putting SU 53-51. From there, they never lost the lead again, aided by some clutch shots and a combined effort to go six of seven from the foul line. As a whole, the team's shooting percentages would balloon up, improving from 33 in the first half to 53 in the second, and from 16.6 from three in the first to 60 from beyond the arc in the second.

Steven Ressler continued his stretch of impressive offensive performances, helping to provide some of those makes from long range. He would score 18 points while going three for six from three, while also adding four rebounds, a team-leading four assists, and a steal. Haberern also hit three from beyond the arc, totaling 13 points and adding seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. Brandon Lavitt would be the other River Hawk in double digits, scoring a season-high 15 points and leading the team in rebounds with nine. Michael Pirone made strong contributions off the bench, scoring a career-high eight points in 17 minutes while adding three rebounds, a steal, and a block.

Now 9-4 overall and 6-0 in the conference, SU will get to remain at home for their next contest, returning to action in just three days' time, hosting Wilkes University on Friday, January 12 for a 5 pm start.

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--RIVER HAWKS--