River Hawks Withstand Late Gopher Run

River Hawks Withstand Late Gopher Run

Team Stats

January 25, 2023

SELINSGROVE, Pa. - Visiting Goucher College whittled a 17-point second half deficit down to five, but host Susquehanna University held on for a 67-58 Landmark Conference men's basketball victory at O.W. Houts Gymnasium Wednesday evening.

First Half

  • Susquehanna (10-8, 5-2 Landmark) jumped out to a 10-2 lead four and a half minutes into the game.
  • Trailing 15-6, Goucher (2-15, 0-7) scored nine straight points and a jumper by Onterio Miller (Bronx, N.Y./Mott Haven) with 9:41 on the clock tied the game 15-15.
  • The River Hawks scored on their next possession and maintained a lead between two and six points for much of the rest of the half.
  • A late free throw put the hosts up seven, 33-26, at the break.

Second Half

  • An early 8-2 Susquehanna run put the hosts up 41-28 with 15:37 on the clock.
  • A conventional three-point play by Darrell Green (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall) with 15:17 left cut the lead to 10, before a 9-2 run by the River Hawks put them up 50-33 with 11:38 to go.
  • Down 55-39, the Gophers used a 13-2 push capped by a pair of free throws by Jacob Morgan (Bowie, Md./Bowie) with 4:37 to go to make it a 57-52 ballgame.
  • Goucher again cut the lead to five, 59-54, on a Miller free throw with just under three minutes to go.
  • Susquehanna's Howie Rankine made a three on SU's next trip down the floor to open up an eight-point cushion.
  • The Gophers got the lead back to six, 63-57, with 46 seconds to go on a Morgan basket, but the hosts made all four of their free throws the rest of the way to secure the victory.

Numbers and Notes

  • Morgan posted a team-high 15 points for Goucher, his fourth-straight double digit scoring effort and 13th of the season.  He also made five steals.
  • Miller added 10 points, going 4-7 from the floor.
  • Mal Graham (Grasonville, Md./Kent Island) added eight ooints off the bench, making all three of his field goal attempts, including a three, while Josh Lichti (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) added seven.
  • Goucher shot 44% from the floor and made two of its nine three point attempts and went 12-21 at the free throw line.
  • SU, which held a 49-28 rebounding advantage, shot 36%, connected on eight of its 25 three-point attempts, and went 11-16 at the line.

Play of the Game

What's Next

  • Goucher returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Scranton in a 4 pm Landmark Conference contest at the Decker Sports and Recreation Center.