Photo Courtesy of Susquehanna Athletics
By Marquis Frias, Sports Editor
The Susquehanna Men’s Basketball Team pulled off a 85-78 upset win over Scranton in the first round of the Landmark Conference Playoffs Tuesday night in Scranton, PA.
Senior Billy Anderson dropped a season high 27 points to go along with nine boards, with junior Mario Castro Sanchez also finishing with 21 points for the River Hawks. Susquehanna entered the game as the No.6 seed in the playoffs, with Scranton being ranked as the highest team in first-round play at No. 3 in the conference.
“My teammates trusted me and put me in good positions to score,” Anderson said. “We knew we had a good matchup on me so we kept attacking it. Their confidence in me is what helped me perform my best.”
After the opening tip, both teams worked around the inside early for buckets. The first three pointer of the game didn’t come until 14:50 left in the first, when Jon Spatola sank one from behind the arc off a fast break.
That three gave the Royals an early cushion, however the River Hawks were able to keep it close throughout the first half, by again using their inside game to create open shots around the floor.
However, the Royals weren’t letting up easy on the offensive end either, as both teams had high scoring first halves. At the end of the first frame, Scranton found themselves up 43-38 entering the locker room.
In the second half, Susquehanna immediately got to work on closing the gap with Castro Sanchez sinking a three-ball to open up the scoring. Just a couple minutes later, “Super Mario” would give the River Hawks their first lead of the ball game with a layup to make the score 54-52.
From there, the River Hawks would go on a 16-4 run, taking control of the game offensively while shutting down the Royals offense. The run featured more buckets from Castro Sanchez, with Anderson and other Senior big man Audric Washington getting their work in around the paint.
With the River Hawks now holding a 12 point lead, the Royals would try to make a comeback of their own, at one point cutting the lead to only five with two minutes remaining.
However, good late-game foul shooting by the River Hawks and a dunk from Washington helped keep away Scranton to seal the 85-78 win over Scranton.
Anderson had his biggest game of the year with 27 points and nine rebounds off of good efficiency, going 10-12 from the field and sinking his three point attempt. Brandon Lavitt also was a key contributor with his 10 points and aggressive defense.
“I’m very proud of our team because we went on the road and grinded out a tough team win,” Anderson said.
Susquehanna also avenged their losses to Scranton in the regular season, as the Royals swept the River Hawks, first winning 75-65 on Jan 10 and most recently knocking off Susquehanna in a 99-92 high scoring duel.
“We learned from our two losses to Scranton… and the coaching staff came up with a great game plan which included staying attached to shooters and playing from the post,” Anderson said.
The upset win sets up the trilogy match between Susquehanna and Drew University. For the past three years, Susquehanna has played Drew on the road in the second round of the Landmark Conference Playoffs.
In 2024, Susquehanna bested the Rangers 68-66 after a late layup from Lavitt and in 2025, Drew got their revenge against the River Hawks 97-81 on their way to winning the Landmark Conference Championship. The two teams also matched up in the final game of the regular season this year with Drew escaping O.W. Houts Gymnasium with a 92-84 win over SU.
“It will take playing hard and smart for 40 minutes,” Anderson said. “We need to trust each other and the coaching staff. We will go in with confidence and play our game.”
The No.6 seed River Hawks will look for another upset win against No.2 seed Drew University on Thursday, Feb 26 at 7 p.m. in Madison, N.J.