FREDERICK, MD - For many college hoops teams, finishing their season in the month of March is a goal. The Susquehanna University men's basketball team is no exception as they rode three consecutive road playoff wins to their first Landmark Conference championship in four years and a NCAA Tournament berth against Redlands Friday, hosted by Hood College. While their ninth-ranked, west coast adversaries ended their season by a 96-71 score, head coach
Frank Marcinek and his River Hawks bid farewell at a time and place that seemed virtually impossible back in January, except to them.
Mired in a late-season crisis and in fear of missing the Landmark Conference Tournament, Susquehanna went 4-2 in its final six games to get the sixth and final seed in the tournament. This was bolstered by a thrilling 81-79 overtime win against first-place Catholic that aided them in tiebreaking scenarios to lock up the final playoff seed. Led by a talented, resilient senior class of
Brandon Lavitt,
Audric Washington,
Jackson Van Wagener,
Billy Anderson,
Allen Cieslak, and
Emezie Egeonu, the team posted stunning tournament wins against Scranton and Drew, leading them to the championship game against Wilkes, where they rallied from 11 points down for their third Landmark title, while becoming the first team to win three road tournament games to capture the league crown.
This group remained committed until the end. Despite Redlands breaking the game open early and taking a 60-35 lead into halftime, Susquehanna finished with solid numbers.
Brandon Lavitt kicked in 19 points, making 8-of-10 from the floor, while Washington earned eight points with a team-best seven rebounds. The River Hawks also finished shooting 48.4 percent (30-of-62).
HOW IT WENT DOWN
- The two teams got off to a quick start. Redlands outscored Susquehanna 6-4 in the game's first three minutes, but Audric Washington and Brandon Lavitt were able to keep the River Hawks in the game.
- Redlands went on a 21-4 run soon after in less than five minutes, thanks to four turnovers from Susquehanna. They shot an incredibly efficient 69 percent from the field over the five-minute stretch, giving them a 27-8 lead at the 12:05 mark in the first half.
- Susquehanna remained in the game, keeping up with Redland's quick pace and trailing 11-8 over the next two-and-a-half minutes.
- Jake Hlywiak led the way for Redlands as the first half ended, scoring seven of the Bulldogs' 22 points in the final nine minutes. Susquehanna remained within 25 points at the half, trailing 60-35.
- Despite trailing 25 at halftime, the River Hawks shot 50 percent in the game's first half (14-of-28). Susquehanna was guilty of turning the ball over 10 times compared to the Bulldogs' four. Redlands controlled the pace throughout, scoring 19 fastbreak points and 17 points off turnovers.
- Susquehanna opened the second half on an 11-8 run, lasting three-and-a-half minutes. The River Hawks made all five of their shots over that stretch as they cut the lead to 22.
- Redlands responded with a 13-11 run as the game's pace slowed down and the Bulldogs maintained firm control of the lead. They would remain firmly in the driver's seat for the remainder of the game.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Lavitt led Susquehanna on the scoring end, posting 19 points on an efficient 88.9% shooting in what would be the final game of his illustrious career at Susquehanna. The North Carolina native paired with Billy Anderson as two 2025-26 River Hawks to join the 1,000-point club, Lavitt with 1,255 points and Anderson 1,060 points.
- Fifteen River Hawks saw the floor Friday, with nine of those playing at least ten minutes.
- Seamus Rogers scored 11 points on five-of-nine shooting to go along with a team-high four assists and two rebounds.
- Washington led Susquehanna in rebounds with seven and eight points scored.
- Perhaps the Bulldogs' biggest advantage was from behind the arc, making 16-of-35 to the River Hawks' 4-of-17.
- The Bulldogs also held a 41-34 advantage in rebounds, including 15 offensive boards for a 16-10 lead in second chance points. They led 2-to-1 in bench points, 44 to Susquehanna's 22. Seamus Rogers had 11 of the team's 22 off the pine.
WHAT A RIDE IT'S BEEN!
- Susquehanna finished its storybook season with a 16-13 overall record, capturing its third-ever Landmark title and tenth NCAA Tournament appearance, the seventh under Frank Marcinek as head coach.
- Lavitt finished his career as a two-time All-Landmark Second Team selection, his first as a freshman in 2022-23 and again just this week.
- Washington was named the Landmark Tournament MVP after scoring 21 points with nine rebounds in the team's Landmark Championship game victory over Wilkes on Saturday.
