SELINSGROVE, PA - The Susquehanna University Men's basketball took home their 12th straight win on Wednesday night, defeating Juniata 58-52 in the first round of the Landmark Conference playoffs. The River Hawks have now won three straight conference tournament games dating back to their championship run in the 2019-20 season and will face Drew at home on Saturday at 7 p.m. for Landmark Conference title. 

Offensively, Susquehanna leaned heavily on Lukas Yurasits throughout the game, and the senior guard came through in a big way. The 2020 Landmark Conference Tournament MVP came through for 28 points on 9-16 shooting, knocking down five three-pointers. The only struggles for Yurasits came from their stripe, where he finished just 5-9, but the offensive output outside of that was huge for the River Hawk offense. 

The Eagles of Juniata College did excellent to keep the game close throughout never trailing by more than 11 and held a lead late in the first half. The Susquehanna offense took some time to get going in the first half after Juniata hit two threes to start the game, but rattled off a 9-0 run to take their first lead of the game. The game remained close throughout the first half, with Juniata taking a 21-20 lead with 6:29 to go. Susquehanna finished the half on a 16-6 run, powered by two three-pointers from Yurasits and and buzzer beating three from Dominic Dunn to give SU a nine point lead. 

In the second half, both defenses showed their prowess, with both teams forcing plenty of turnovers and misses from the other. Juniata turned over the ball seven times in the period while Susquehanna nearly matched their season average per game in the second half, with nine turnovers.

Dunn hit the first shot of the second half for SU, pushing their lead to 11, the biggest their lead would get. Slowly, the Eagles chipped away, getting the game as close as four throughout the half, and as late as with one minute to go. With the lead down to four, Susquehanna was able to run precious time off the clock before Yurasits found Jay Martin for a wide open layup with 39 seconds to go. After two free throws from Evan Eisenhart put the lead back to four, Danny Frauenheim was fouled and knocked down both free throws to push the lead back to six. With Juniata frantically looking for a shot on the other end, an errant pass was intercepted by Martin, leading to the free throws that put the finishing touches on the game. 

Dunn was the only other SU player in double figures with 13 points and also added three three-pointers. Martin added eight points and six rebounds off the bench, and Howie Rankine, Jr. had six points and four steals. Jack Van Syckle contributed ten boards and Frauenheim had four assists. 

Defensively, Susquehanna has flipped the script since inserting Van Syckle in the starting lineup, giving up just 57 points per game over the 12 game stretch. Those 12 games have coincided with the team's 12-game win streak, with Coach Frank Marcinek changing up the team's defense to fantastic results. 

The River Hawks have now won 12 straight games, matching their longest win streak since 2016-17 when they also had a 12 game streak. Susquehanna won their first 15 games of the 2015-16 season, a season in which they earned an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament, hosting first and second round games, coming away with a round one victory. 

Up Next

• Susquehanna will host the Landmark Championship game on Saturday, February 26, at 7 p.m.with the Drew Rangers coming to town after a miraculous win against Catholic. The Rangers finished the game on a 21-0 to come back and defeat Catholic at home. Susquehanna defeated Drew in both meeting, most recently with SU winning 78-61 at home on February 2. Tickets for the game can be purchased at the door. 

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