Susquehanna men's basketball head coach Frank Marcinek notched career win number 400 Wednesday night as the River Hawks came from behind in the second half to post an 89-83 victory over Catholic University in a Landmark Conference game in Washington, DC.
Marcinek, in his 28th year as head coach at Susquehanna, improved his overall career record to 400-302 with the win.
The victory came in dramatic fashion as Susquehanna (16-2 overall, 6-1 Landmark), ranked No. 12 in the country according to the latest D3hoops.com Top-25, trailed by nine points at halftime, 41-32, but scored 57 points in the second half to come away with the fourth consecutive win – three coming on the road and all in Landmark Conference games.
Catholic (13-5, 5-2) scored early in the second half to take a 15-point lead at 51-36 four minutes into the half.
Senior Danny Weiss hit a pair of free throws and two consecutive layups in an 8-3 run to trim the lead back to 10. After a Catholic 3-pointer, Seth Callahan drained a 3-pointer and Steven Weidlich hit a pair of free throws to spark an 18-3 River Hawks run capped by a Callahan 3-pointer that gave Susquehanna a 62-60 advantage with 8:03 left to play.
After the teams traded baskets, Callahan and Ryan Traub sparked another run – this time a 12-4 burst as the River Hawks opened up an eight-point lead.
Susquehanna hit 9-of-10 free throws in the closing minutes to seal the victory.
Weidlich led the River Hawks with 24 points and Traub added 18 accounting for 42 of the 43 points scored by the Susquehanna starters. Callahan (19 points), Weiss (20 points) and Zachery Knecht (seven points) were the difference in the game as the River Hawks reserves outscored the Catholic bench 46-11.
Adam Dizbon, Callahan and Knecht recorded six rebounds each to lead the team and Weidlich added a team-best six assists.
The River Hawks finish the key four-game road swing at Moravian Saturday and play at home next Wednesday against Juniata.