Men's Basketball Susquehanna Athletic Communications

Susquehanna Defeats Drew, Advances to Championship Game at Wilkes

MADISON, N.J. – First-year Mikey Cumbo scored 18 second-half points and a career-high 24 points total, helping Susquehanna Men's Basketball knock off No. 2-seeded Drew University, 93-87, to advance to the Landmark Conference Championship game. They will travel to Wilkes University on Saturday, scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The Colonels upset the first-seeded Cardinals in their Thursday night game by a 79-70 score. 

The River Hawks return to the Landmark Championship for the fourth time in the last six seasons, having won it all in 2019-20 and 2021-22. They last reached the finals back in 2023-24, squaring off against eventual champion Catholic. Thursday's matchup marked the third year in a row the River Hawks visited Drew in the Landmark Semifinals, having beaten the Rangers in that late-February 2024 game, while Drew took last year's matchup en route to the Landmark title. Lastly, much like their first-round triumph at Scranon on Tuesday, the River Hawks avenged their regular-season sweep by Drew, with the Rangers winning their first matchup 97-88 back on Jan. 17 and the second by a 92-84 score just five days ago on Feb. 21. 

HOW IT WENT DOWN
  • Senior big man Billy Anderson scored six of Susquehanna's first 11 points as the River Hawks opened the game's first five minutes on an 11-6 run. First-year guard KJ Carson had the other five points over that stretch.
  • The River Hawks followed their opening stretch with a 10-2 run that gave them a 21-8 lead at the 12:02 mark in the first half. Jackson Van Wagener led the way with four points in just under three minutes.
  • Drew responded with 10 unanswered points in just one-and-a-half minutes, cutting Susquehanna's lead to just three as the River Hawks cooled down from the field.
  • Both sides traded baskets over the final ten minutes of the first half, ending the last ten minutes knotted in a stalemate at 25-25 over that stretch. Susquehanna led at the break, 46-40, as patient shooting prevailed. While both teams finished the first half with 16 made field goals and four 3-pointers apiece, the River Hawks made 50.0 percent of their shots (16-of-32) to the Rangers' (16-of-37). SU's made 4-of-10 from beyond the arc, compared to the home team's 4-of-16. 
  • Drew cut the River Hawk lead to just three after the first three minutes coming out of the break. David Musial scored five points in that time to help the Rangers get back in the game.
  • Cumbo took control of the game immediately after Drew cut the lead to three, scoring five points in three-and-a-half minutes to extend Susquehanna's lead back up to six. Cumbo scored five more points over the next three minutes, but Drew made three shots from beyond the arc, bringing it to a 72-70 Susquehanna lead with 9:47 remaining.
  • Mario Castro Sanchez led Susquehanna on a 12-4 run a few minutes later, one that would extend the River Hawks' lead to double digits and seal the game, sending them to the Landmark Conference Championship game.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Susquehanna outshot Drew from all three major shooting categories. They made 50.8 percent from the floor (30-of-59) to Drew's 43.6 percent (34-of-78). From 3-point range, the River Hawks finished at 8-of-18, while the Rangers kept things interesting in the second half, improving to 12-of-35 from long range. The big gap came at the free throw line, with Susquehanna making 25-of-32 compared to Drew's 7-of-12
  • The River Hawks out-rebounded the Rangers 45-36, controlling the glass once again. Susquehanna used its ten offensive rebounds to fuel 13 second-chance points.
  • Cumbo's perfect touch from the free-throw line paid big dividends as he made 13-of-13 from the line, complementing that with 5-of-6 shooting and making his lone 3-point attempt on the night. He grabbed five rebounds and dished out two assists to add to his career night.
  • Castro Sanchez added 19 points to Susquehanna's total to go along with six rebounds and one assist. The junior had half of the team's 3-point totals, making 4-of-7 from long range, while adding six rebounds and finishing 6-of-14 on the night from the floor.
  • Van Wagener, Anderson, and Carson also had double-digit scoring totals, as Van Wagener had 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Carson and Anderson each had 11. Anderson made 4-of-7 from the floor, including 2-of-3 on threes, while leading the team with seven rebounds. 

UP NEXT FOR THE RIVER HAWKS
  • Saturday's Landmark title game marks the first-ever Landmark playoff meeting against Susquehanna and Wilkes, as the Colonels joined the conference in 2023-24. 
  • The River Hawks swept Wilkes during the regular season, winning 75-72 at home back on Nov. 25 and 90-86 at Wilkes back on Feb. 4. 
  • Susquehanna becomes the first sixth seed ever to reach the Landmark Conference men's basketball title game, a scenario almost hard to believe nearly a month ago, as the River Hawks won four of their last six regular season games, including a key 81-79 overtime victory over first-place Catholic as it helped them clinch the sixth and final tournament spot thanks to the tiebreaker.