By Alex Kurtz, Sports Editor
Freshman forward Dominic Dunn scored 24 points and added seven rebounds but it was not enough as the Susquehanna men’s basketball team fell on the road to conference-foe Drew 78–70 on Wednesday, Feb. 6.
The River Hawks could not get many shots to fall on the night, posting a rough .361 field goal percentage. However, they were able to stay close to the conference leaders thanks to hitting every free throw during the game.
Susquehanna started slow before a 10-0 run gave the River Hawks their first lead of the game with the score at 19–14.
Soon afterwards, Drew would respond with a 10–0 run of their own to retake the lead. Dunn and sophomore guard Bryce Butler would both score to give the River Hawks the lead going into halftime.
Freshman guard Lukas Yurasits and sophomore guard Matt LaCorte both scored at the beginning of the second half but Drew went on a 7–0 run shortly after to take a 36–29 lead.
The River Hawks responded quickly though thanks to a tip in and two consecutive three-pointers; which narrowed the Ranger’s lead to one.
Drew however would not let Susquehanna get any closer to the lead. The River Hawks went on a shooting slump for the rest of the game.
The Rangers continued to shoot the ball well and eventually the score went as high as 68–51 in favor of Drew. Senior guard Tyler Hoagland alongside Dunn and Yurasits started to chip away at the lead and eventually cut the lead in half, but time would expire to give Drew the win.
Other than Dunn, Yurasits and LaCorte were the only other River Hawks to eclipse double figures for points during the contest. Drew forward Nate Aldrich led the Rangers in scoring on the day with 19 points and also posted 10 rebounds for a double-double.
With the loss, Susquehanna falls to 14-8 overall and 7-4 in the Landmark Conference and now sits tied for third place in the conference alongside Scranton. The team will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 9 when they return to the friendly confines of O.W. Houts Gymnasium to host conference-foe Catholic.
The Cardinals are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the conference playoffs as they currently sit with a 9-13 overall record and 5-6 in conference play. However, the last time the two teams met was on Jan. 19 when the Cardinals upset the River Hawks 78–74.
Game time for the River Hawks is at 4 p.m.