ANNVILLE, PA (January 3, 2022) -- Senior Jay Martin broke a 38-year single-game steals record at Susquehanan Sunday afternoon with 10 thefts in a 86-60 road victory over Lebanon Valley College for the SU men's basketball team in non-conference action from Sorrentino Gymnasium. 

Martin's 10 steals bested prior performances of seven by John Hendricks (1/13/1994 at Messiah), Gregg Allocco (1/13/1990 at Drew) and Jack Esworthy (12/12/1983 vs. Thiel). Martin's previous personal high for steals was six, set earlier this season also against Lebanon Valley College. The defensive performance was also the best ever by a Landmark Conference player, breaking the 8-steal game by Travis Farrell for Scranton against Goucher College back on February 4, 2011. It was also tied for the second-most in an NCAA Division III game this year, and was tied for the third-most at any NCAA Division. 

The 10 steals were part of 21 steals for Susquehanna (8-3), bettering the 18 in the early home win over the Dutchmen. The 21 takeaways were also the most in a game for SU since posting 24 back on November 16, 2012 against Penn College. 

Like the previous meeting this season, points off turnovers was a major factor in the contest, as Susquehanna posted a 30-14 edge in that category. The River Hawk bench also was key, as SU finished with a 43-9 advantage on the afternoon. 

Susquehanna scored on its first possession on a lay-up by Danny Frauenheim and would never trail in the game, though Lebanon Valley College tied the game at 13:02 of the first half on a lay-up from Collin Jones. Junior Wes Simons scored on the next touch for Susquehanna, sparking a 9-2 run to take a 21-14 lead after a score by Isaiah Oluajayi. 

The River Hawks led by as much as 14 on two occasions before settling for a 13-point lead at 39-26 at the halftime break. The Dutchmen (5-6) trimmed the River Hawk advantage down to three at the 14:47 mark of the second half after another Jones' score, but SU responded with a 10-0 run book ended by triples by junior Dominic Dunn and first-year Cooper Haberern to make it 54-41. 

Lebanon Valley College stopped the spurt to make it 54-43, but the River Hawks kept the momentum with another 13-0 stretch punctuated by a dunk by Haberern. Susquehanna's lead would balloon up to 30 with 3:30 to go as the River Hawks cruised to their third-straight win and fifth in the last six contests. 

Susquehanna shot 50.8 percent (32-63) from the field on the contest, connecting on nine three-pointers Sunday. Dunn posted a team-high 16 points, going 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, while senior Lukas Yurasits tallied 11 points in 15 minutes. Junior Howie Rankine, Jr. came off the bench to finish with 11 points, four assists and five rebounds, and Haberern finished with a career-high nine points. 

First-year Steven Ressler also came off the bench to add nine points, and Martin chalked up seven points to go with his steals total. Senior Quincy Haughton finished with seven points while Oluajayi contributed six points and five rebounds. 

Jones was 9-of-15 on the night for LVC, registering 23 points and five rebounds in the loss. Lebanon Valley was 24-of-48 (50.0 percent) from the floor, but the 27 turnovers on the game were too much to overcome. Peyton Lewis also finished with 11 points for the Dutchmen. 

Up Next

• Susquehanna will have one day to prepare for Haverford College (6-4), as the Fords come to O.W. Houts January 4 for the first home game of 2022 Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. in non-conference play in Selinsgrove, PA. 

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