The Quill/Joanna Mizak -Senior guard Steven Weidlich drives to the hoop during his 32-point performance in Susquehanna’s 84-63 win over Goucher on Feb. 4.
By Melissa Barracato Staff writer
After being tied at halftime, the Susquehanna men’s basketball team pulled away to finish with a 21-point win by a score of 84-63 against Goucher at home on Feb 4.
After a close first half, the Gophers led by 33-32. Goucher took an early 6-point lead in the second half, which was answered by an 8-1 run to give Susquehanna the edge at 48-47.
The next five minutes were a back-and-forth battle between the two teams, ending at a tie at 56 points each. Only then, at the 10-minute mark, did the River Hawks switch gears and pull away with a 28-5 run to get the win.
“I thought we got more aggressive defensively,” Head Coach Frank Marcinek said. “I was thinking that we were taking control of the game and I hoped that we could keep the run going.”
Senior guard Steven Weidlich was a huge part of Susquehanna’s rally as he had 26 of the 52 points scored in the second half. “Steven is self-motivated. He, along with the rest of the team, wants to win as much as anybody,” Marcinek said. “They were disappointed with how they played, but they were still confident. I think that as the game wore on, Steve felt a greater sense of urgency that someone needed to step up.”
“He felt more of the pressure that he needed to become more assertive offensively,” Marcinek continued.
Weidlich led the River Hawks with 32 total points, followed by senior guard Jason Dietrich with 18 points. Junior center Ryan Traub contributed 12 and senior guard Dalton Reichard added five. Off the bench, junior guard Adam Dizbon had eight points, senior forward Danny Weiss added six and freshman guard Zachary Knecht had three points.
“The team’s performance has been very consistent and very good,” Marcinek said. “To win 18 games, you need to be consistently good.”
The only three losses for the River Hawks this season have come against Misericordia in double-overtime and Landmark Conference opponents Scranton and Moravian.
“We’ve been really consistent and that’s something we’ve strived for since day one,” Marcinek said.
Susquehanna also hosted conference foe Catholic on Feb. 8 and won 88-64. Weidlich finished with a game-high 25 points. The lead was in big part to a 20-5 run to close out the first half.
If Susquehanna wins out, it will win the regular season championship in the league and will be the No. 1 seed in the conference playoffs, allowing the River Hawks to host at least all of their playoff games.
The four seniors—Dietrich, Reichard, Weidlich and Weiss—will be honored before the game against Drew on Feb. 11.
“This group of seniors has had the most successful run of any group of players in Susquehanna basketball history. It’s been a pretty special couple years and they are the ones that deserve the credit,” Marcinek said.
The wins put the River Hawks at 8-2 in conference play and 18-3 on the season. They are the 19th ranked team in Division III.
