By Andrew Snyder, Staff Writer
Thanks to a 27-point, ninerebound performance from freshman forward Dominic Dunn, the Susquehanna men’s basketball team clinched a conference playoff spot with an 87-78 win over Catholic on Saturday afternoon at O.W. Houts Gymnasium.
Dunn notched his 27 points on five-for-nine shooting from beyond the arc to go along with his nine rebounds, four of which were on the offensive end.
Sophomore guard Bryce Butler dropped 14 points, shooting four-for-six from three-point range. Butler was a force on defense, logging a game-high five steals.
Senior forward Zach Knecht was a perfect five-forfive from the field for his 10 points, while freshman guard Danny Fraunheim added 14 points of his own.
For Catholic, senior Andre Mitchell led all Cardinals with 20 points. Junior Riley Hayes recorded a double-double, scoring 15 points and crashing the boards for 12 rebounds.
The first half began as a back-and-forth affair. Dunn and Yurasits provided hot shooting from three-point range early in the half to give the River Hawks a 20-17 lead at the 9:32 mark.
Knecht took over the first-half scoring from there. With six minutes to go in the first half, Knecht scored on four-straight possessions to extend the Susquehanna lead to 11 with 4:00 left.
Catholic continued to test Susquehanna offensively, but the River Hawk lead extended to 14 points with 2:30 left in the half.
Dunn hit the final shot of the first half and Susquehanna went into halftime with a 45-32 lead.
Catholic pulled within single digits early in the second half, but were temporarily silenced by Bryce Butler, who knocked down three-consecutive three-pointers to extend the River Hawk lead 17 points with 15 minutes left to play.
Catholic would not go away however. Mitchell led an early second-half charge, knocking the Susquehanna advantage down to 11 points with 13 minutes remaining.
Susquehanna responded with a run of their own, however. A Butler steal led to two of the River Hawks’ 15 points created off turnovers, making the score 65-46 with only nine minutes remaining.
Susquehanna went through a cold stretch late in the second half, and a clutch threepointer from Catholic’s Jimmy Golaszewski pulled Catholic within nine at the 3:54 mark.
Catholic continued to surge late in the game, but were held at bay by Dunn, who knocked down two key buckets, including a difficult fadeaway jumper.
Despite the River Hawks’ best defensive efforts, Catholic stayed hot offensively and cut the lead to just three points with 30 seconds to go.
The Cardinals put the pressure on Susquehanna in the final seconds, sending Dunn and Fraunheim to the free throw line a total of six times in the final 30 seconds, where they hit all six attempts to seal the win.
The victory over Catholic clinched a conference playoff spot for Susquehanna, who will be looking to win their first conference championship in over a decade.
The River Hawks followed up this impressive performance with another win on Wednesday, Feb. 13, defeating visiting Moravian College by a score of 98-89.
This time, it was LaCorte who led the way in scoring, dropping 22 points; 14 of which came in a tightly-contested second half.
After a back-and-forth first few minutes of the game, Yurasits was able create some separation for the team by drilling back-to-back threes. The River Hawks led 57-46 at half.
With the River Hawk’s lead dwindling to single digits late in the game, Butler drained a clutch three to put Susquehanna up by 12. Butler contributed 13 points in the win as well as three assists and a steal.
Senior guard Tyler Hoagland, who was one of two athletes honored on the team’s senior night, scored 13 points, dished out five assists, and grabbed three rebounds in an excellent all-around effort.
Dunn followed up his spectacular effort against Catholic with a nine-point, four-rebound performance against the Greyhounds.
The River Hawks will travel to Juniata on Saturday, Feb. 16 to play their final regular season game. The Landmark Conference playoffs are set to tip off on Wednesday, Feb. 20.