Photo By Logan Moyer, Sports Editor
By Matt Guear
The men’s basketball team defeated Landmark Conference opponent Scranton by a score of 72-62 on Saturday in the first game of the Senior Day doubleheader at O.W. Houts Gymnasium thanks to an efficient three-point shooting performance by redshirt sophomore guard Cooper Haberern.
“They were running a zone all game, so strategy was to play inside out,” said Haberern. “I was just fortunate to be hitting them today.”
Haberern led the team in scoring with 19 points, shooting 6-13 from the field and 5-11 from three-point range. He also had eight rebounds.
Haberern initiated the scoring for the River Hawks (15-8 overall, 12-4 Landmark) with a layup to make it 3-2 in favor of the Royals. Susquehanna and Scranton (4-19, 2-14) were trading blows for most of the half until sophomore guard Jon Spatola made a jump shot to give the Royals a 23-18 lead at the 6:13 mark.
The River Hawks then went on a 16-0 run to close out the final six minutes of the half. They went into the break up 34-23 and never looked back.
Redshirt sophomore guard Steven Ressler aided the second half effort with 14 points. After starting out cold in the first half, Ressler made four out of five shots from the field, two of which were three pointers.
Sophomore center Billy Anderson had 13 points and eight rebounds, picking up the slack for sophomore forward Brandon Lavitt, who had an unusual off game.
Nonetheless, the River Hawks were happy to defeat the Royals and stay firmly in second place in the Landmark Conference behind Catholic.
“We need to dig in and play like we know how to play,” said Haberern. “We’ve had our ups and downs throughout the season, and we need to finish strong.”
Women’s basketball falls to #8 Scranton
The women’s team didn’t fare as well as the men, dropping a 62-51 decision to Scranton on the back end of the doubleheader.
After getting in early foul trouble, the River Hawks found themselves down 31-16 at half time.
While Scranton, ranked as the #8 team in the country by d3hoops.com, seemingly had an insurmountable lead, the River Hawks did put up a fight in the second half. There were several instances where it seemed the momentum may be switching to Susquehanna’s side.
Sophomore guard Julia Pinckert had 14 points while shooting 5-13 from the field and sophomore forward Carly George and graduate student guard Kaitlyn Lynch both had 12.
However, the Royals pulled away again late in the fourth quarter to defeat the River Hawks.
Both squads take on Juniata College on Wednesday at 7 p.m., with the women visiting Juniata and the men defending O.W. Houts Gymnasium from the Eagles.
