Photos By Michael Lipscomb
By Marquis Frias, Assistant Sports Editor
Brandon Lavitt’s fall-away jumper at the buzzer sealed a 68-66 win for the men’s basketball team against Juniata on Wednesday at O.W. Houts Gymnasium in the Landmark Conference opener.
“The ball kind of just ended up with me… and you got to make a play,” Lavitt said. “Just fortunate that the ball went in the hoop… and I’m really happy we ended up getting the win.”
The contest between the two Landmark Conference foes began with the Eagles (2-2 overall, 0-1 Landmark) going on an early 12-2 run.
The River Hawks (3-1, 1-0) would come back from the early Juniata run, eventually taking the lead after a Luke Fryer three-pointer made the score 20-19 with 10 minutes left in the first.
This would spark Susquehanna to finish the first half strong, as from that point the River Hawks were able to outscore Juniata 18-7 before heading into the break. Junior AJ Lomax led SU in scoring the first half with 9 points, all coming from 3-point land.
After a strong ending to the first half, the River Hawks would begin the second on a cold streak, not able to get anything to fall in the early going. Susquehanna only managed to score six points in the half’s first 10 minutes.
“We just couldn’t score to start the second half,” Susquehanna coach Frank Marcinek said. “I give credit to their defense. They defend really well; they are aggressive and quick.”
The Eagles were able to tie up the score at 43 all during Susquehanna’s shooting slump, and the contest would remain close for the remainder of the game.
With five minutes left and the score tied at 57, Susquehanna’s foul shooting would keep them afloat while Juniata made difficult shot after difficult shot, keeping the game close.
A pair of free throws from Audric Washington gave Susquehanna a two-point lead with just 24 seconds left to play. On the other end, Noah Bailey drew a foul for Juniata and hit the pair of free throws to tie the game at 66.
Susquehanna immediately inbounded the ball and used the remaining 10 seconds for the final shot. Lomax’s extra swing found the open man in Lavitt, who was able to sink the pull up jumper, giving the River Hawks the win.
“A play was drawn up… just a bit of a broken situation,” Marcinek said. “To say I drew up a play for Brandon there, no. But we play basketball, and we play the right way.”
Lavitt finished the game with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists. Lomax, who assisted Lavitt on his game winner also contributed with 13 points, shooting three for five from behind the arc.
The River Hawks as a team shot the ball at a 22-25 clip from the line, which gave them some insurance in the long run. “After the York game, we talked a lot about getting to the line. We got to the line today, and that was the difference in the game.”
Wednesday’s win over Juniata was also the first for Susquehanna in the Landmark Conference this year. The River Hawks begin their 2025-26 campaign 1-0 and will see conference opponents in four of their next five games.
“We’ve got to be ready,” Lavitt said. “Night in and night out… people are coming for our backs. We’re one of the older teams in the conference, and we are going to get everyone’s best shot.”
The River Hawks will be on the road against Elizabethtown on Saturday at 2 p.m.