SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Susquehanna ran away from the Lions late in the first half and rebuffed a late Penn State Harrisburg rally on the way to a 79-65 victory at Houts Gymnasium on Monday night, Nov. 25.  The Blue & White was paced by Will Doyle (Franklin, Va. / Tidewater Academy).  The senior netted a team-high 12 points while junior Alberto De Los Santos (Enola, Pa. / East Pennsboro) and sophomore Jared Deibler (Middletown, Pa. / Middletown Area) added ten tallies apiece.

The Crusaders struck first and eventually jumped out to an early 10-4 advantage.  But layups by Deibler and junior Kevin Icker (Scranton, Pa. / Scranton Prep), as well as a three-pointer by freshman Marquese Daniels (Wyncote, Pa. / Philadelphia Engineering & Technology Charter) kept the Lions within striking distance.

Following a De Los Santos layup that knotted the game at 11-all with 11:42 left in the first half, Susquehanna went on a momentum-shifting 11-1 run over the next four and a half minutes, reclaiming the lead at 22-12. 

Back-to-back buckets by Deibler cut the deficit to six at the 5:44 mark but another strong push by the home team put Penn State Harrisburg in a hole heading into the break.  The Crusaders outscored the Blue & White 18-8 to end the first period, leaving the Lions trailing 43-27 at halftime.

A determined Penn State Harrisburg group took the floor to begin the second half and the visitors slowly but surely clawed their way back into it.  A Doyle three-ball and a jumper by senior Kenny Stone (Philadelphia, Pa. / Scotland) drew the Lions within ten at 47-37 with 17:50 remaining in regulation.    

Susquehanna's Matt McGugan converted a layup to keep the Crusaders lead steady at 60-48 at the 11:11 mark.  From there, the Lions put together a much-needed run of their own.  De Los Santos, Deibler and junior Joey Farthing (Lancaster, Pa. / Hempfield) got into the scoring act and led Penn State Harrisburg to a 9-3 scoring advantage over the next two minutes, pulling the visitors to within 63-57 with just under ten minutes left to play.

Unfortunately, that's as close as the Lions would get as their offense suddenly went stone cold.  The Blue & White failed to score over a crucial four minute stretch that also saw Susquehanna come to life from beyond the arc as McGugan and Brandon Hedley knocked down two clutch three-pointers that halted Penn State Harrisburg's momentum and stretched the Crusaders' lead back to 15 points.

"We didn't come out with a focused defensive effort to start the game," said Penn State Harrisburg head coach Don Friday.  "We gave too many easy looks to their key players."

Though not the result he would have liked, Friday was pleased with his squad's second half effort, as well as the leadership displayed by Doyle and Stone.

"I challenged the team at halftime and the men responded with greater purpose on both ends of the floor in the second half," he said.  "Our program's mindset is to continue to build.  When we get back from Thanksgiving, it will be fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals."

"We came out in the second half after making the proper adjustments and were within six at one point," said Penn State Harrisburg assistant coach Sam Schlosser.  "If a few things go our way maybe we come out with a win.  Unfortunately that wasn't the case tonight and we didn't."

In addition to his point total, Doyle racked up six rebounds and five assists.  Icker netted eight while Farthing grabbed a team-high nine boards.  Junior Joshua Johnson (Franklin, Va. / Southampton) added seven tallies and freshman Michael Sperring (York, Pa. / York Catholic) chipped in with five points in his first start of the season.

The most telling stat of the night came in the rebound department.  The Lions were outrebounded by Susquehanna 41-27 with the Crusaders grabbing nearly as many defensive boards (26) as Penn State Harrisburg corralled all night.  The Blue & White also suffered from foul trouble with the home team getting to the charity stripe 27 times compared to just 13 attempts by the Lions.

The defeat dropped Penn State Harrisburg to 1-3 on the season.  The Lions are idle for nearly a week and don't take the court again until the weekend when they host Lebanon Valley on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 1.  All proceeds from ticket sales will go directly to the Radabaugh Relief Fund in an effort to help the Radabaugh family following a house fire that destroyed their home last month. 

Follow us on Twitter - @PSHbgAthletics

Follow us on Facebook – group name PSHathletics