Men's Basketball Susquehanna Athletic Communications

Susquehanna Men's Basketball Rallies from 11-Down to Beat Wilkes in Landmark Championship

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Susquehanna University men's basketball team defied all the odds on Saturday, February 28 to win its first Landmark Conference championship in four years, rallying from 11 points down late in the second half to defeat Wilkes by a 76-72 score.

The River Hawks became the first team to win the Landmark title with three straight tournament road wins and the first to raise the Landmark banner as the sixth seed. The fourth-seeded Colonels held a 64-53 lead with just over five minutes to play in the game. Just three minutes later, that lead evaporated in the midst of a 19-2 Susquehanna run. Stellar play on both ends of the court and a perfect 11-for-11 on free throws in the closing minutes gave Susquehanna its third Landmark title and first since the 2021-22 season. 

Senior center Audric Washington was named the Landmark Tournament MVP after scoring a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds, making 10-of-19 field goals. Seven of his rebounds were offensive as ball control served Susquehanna well in a tight game throughout. 

The River Hawks, once considered longshots to make the Landmark Tournament back in late January, are now the last team standing in the Landmark as they'll await their NCAA Tournament fate. The selection show will take place Monday, Mar. 2, at 1 p.m. ET on NCAA.com, with games beginning Friday, Mar. 6. The 64-team field consists of 43 automatic qualifiers and 21 at-large bids. 

HOW IT WENT DOWN
  • First-year standout KJ Carson scored four of Susquehanna's first six points over the opening two minutes, giving the River Hawks an early 6-2 advantage.
  • Jack Argento led Wilkes on a 10-4 run immediately following Susquehanna's strong start, putting the Colonels back in front 12-10 with 13:29 remaining. Argento finished the game with 13 points.
  • Susquehanna responded with a 14-6 run of its own over the next five minutes. Junior Mario Castro Sanchez teamed up with Brandon Lavitt to score nine of those 14 points, taking a 22-18 lead with 8:06 remaining.
  • Wilkes' Lucas Lesko scored 10 points in just over eight minutes, leading the Colonels to outscore Susquehanna 17-11 in the final minutes of the first half and giving Wilkes a slim 35-32 lead at the break. Susquehanna outshot Wilkes from the field (51.9% to 45.7%) despite the three-point halftime deficit.
  • Wilkes extended its lead over the first six minutes of the second half, claiming a 50-39 advantage with 14:37 remaining, thanks in part to a proficient 70% shooting performance over that stretch.
  • Audric Washington, playing with a sense of urgency, led the River Hawks on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to cut the lead to two. Washington scored seven of Susquehanna's eight points during that span.
  • Wilkes refused to yield, however, responding with a 12-4 run as they held a pair of 11-point leads, with the latter a 64-53 advantage with 5:20 remaining. 
  • Senior guard Jackson Van Wagener led Susquehanna over the next three minutes on a pivotal 13-2 run to tie the game up at 66-66, with a layup from Lavitt tying the game. 
  • The Colonels missed a three-pointer on their ensuing possession. Lavitt got the ball back for SU, then was sent to the line to make both his free throws to go up 70-66
  • Wilkes failed to produce again on the other end of the floor, as with just over one minute to play, Mikey Cumbo came up with a steal and went to the line to shoot two. He made them both to lead 72-66. 
  • The home team's last rebuttal came on a 3-pointer by Daniel Santaniello to make the score 74-72 River Hawks. But good inbounds plays, and a press break left Wilkes with no other choice than to foul Cumbo again. Much like his Thursday-night heroics at Drew, where he made 13-of-13 free throws, he sank both his shots for a 76-72 win that served as the final score. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • The River Hawks' free throw shooting that served them well in Thursday's semifinals win at Drew again took center stage Saturday as they made 17-of-25 at the line, including 11 straight to close out the game and the championship. Wilkes' shooting at the line fell under 50 percent for the night at 5-of-11. Cumbo led Susquehanna at the line, making 6-of-6. Between Thursday and Saturday's games, Cumbo has made 19 consecutive free throws. 
  • Both sides fared similarly in nearly every other shooting category, as the River Hawks made 46.7 percent from the floor (28-of-60) compared to the Colonels' 48.5 percent (32-of-66). The two teams each finished with three 3-pointers off 11 attempts for Susquehanna and 16 for Wilkes. 
  • Susquehanna also held the edge in rebounds over Wilkes, 38-37. This included 18 offensive rebounds that led to nine second chance points.
  • Twenty-two of Susquehanna's points came from the bench, with nine from Seamus Rogers, eight from Cumbo, and five from Tuesday's hero versus Scranton's Billy Anderson. 
  • Washington led Susquehanna with 21 points on 10-of-19 shooting. The senior added a team-high nine rebounds and two assists to his performance.
  • Lavitt scored 15 points to go with three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block.
  • Seven players played at least 20 minutes for the River Hawks as head coach Frank Marcinek tightened the rotation for the biggest game of the season.