SCRANTON, PA - Susquehanna men's basketball put up their second-highest scoring total of the season Saturday in a pivotal late-season matchup at Scranton. Riding a three-game win streak to thrust themselves back in the Landmark Tournament picture, the River Hawks put up a great fight against the Royals, though it would be Scranton that took a 99-92 win.
How it Happened:
- The River Hawks came out hot, scoring the first five points of the contest. Brandon Lavitt netted three, with Audric Washington scoring an additional two.
- The Royals clawed their way back to tie the game at 10 points all, before taking a one point lead with 14:58 to go in the first half of play.
- Scranton kept the pressure on the River Hawks, jumping out to a ten point lead with around ten minutes to play in the first half of play.
- The River Hawks stayed consistent on the offensive end of the match, keeping the game close, cutting the Scranton lead down to two points multiple times.
- Regardless of the valiant effort the River Hawks portrayed through the first half, the team still trailed by four points heading into the break, 45-41.
- Brandon Lavitt dropped four points to start the second half of play, knotting the game back up at 45 points each with 19 minutes to play.
- The two teams continued to trade blows with the River Hawks pulling away by five points with 15:01 to play in regulation.
- The Scranton offense exploded with a little more than ten minutes to play, taking the lead and never relinquishing it for the remainder of the contest.
- Susquehanna continued to fight through the final buzzer, ultimately coming up short in a high scoring battle, 99-92.
Inside the Box Score:
- Brandon Lavitt scored 29 points in a nearly flawless game, making 11-of-14 from the field and 7-of-9 from the line. He added six rebounds and four assists, putting him one point short of his career high of 30 set against Elizabethtown.
- First-year KJ Carson added 18 points, making 7-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-4 on threes to follow up his game-winning performance against Catholic on Wednesday.
- Mikey Cumbo and Seamus Rogers came off the bench to deliver 12 and 11 points, respectively. Cumbo shot 4-of-6 in just 17 minutes of action, making 3-of-4 threes, while Rogers delivered a 4-of-9 shooting display where he sank 3-of-5 three-point chances.
- Susquehanna had its second-highest shooting performance of the season, making 34-of-56 and 11-of-18 on threes. Scranton hit on 56.1 percent of shots at 32-of-57, making 7-of-15 threes. The major area of concern was the free throws, where the River Hawks were called on 24 fouls, with Lavitt fouling out after 32 minutes of action. This led to the Royals making 28-of-32 free throws, while Susquehanna made 13-of-20.
- The River Hawks pulled down 26 rebounds, with the Royals earning one more with 27.
Up Next for the River Hawks:
- The River Hawks have two games remaining in the regular season, with the first scheduled at Goucher College on February 18. Susquehanna wraps up the regular season by celebrating senior day against Drew University on February 21 at O.W. Houts Gymnasium.
- Susquehanna, currently in seventh place at 8-8 in Landmark play, aims to keep their postseason dreams alive by winning out and seeing Moravian University and Wilkes University dropping one of their last two remaining games.
