COLLEGEVILLE – The Ursinus Men's Basketball team dropped a high-scoring 117-111 affair to Susquehanna in non-conference action at Helfferich Hall on Tuesday evening.
With the loss, the Bears see their five-game winning streak snapped as they now stand at 6-2. Meanwhile, the River Hawks of the Landmark Conference improved to 7-3 overall.
This was the first time the Bears scored over 100 points in a game since January 3rd, 2019, when they scored 101 in a win over Rosemont, and the most points they have scored in a game since scoring 111 in a win against New Rochelle on November 18th, 2017. The 228 combined points were the most in an Ursinus men's game since they defeated Rhode Island College 124-117 in overtime for a combined 241 points on November 20th, 2004.
Senior Ryan Hughes led the Bears with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and grabbed seven rebounds along with two steals. For Hughes, it was his third-straight 20-point or more game. Sophomore Trevor Wall registered a season-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and dished out a game-high seven assists. Freshman Sean Neylon added 16 points behind going 4-of-7 from the beyond the arc and grabbed three rebounds, while junior Kyle Maurer added 12 points along with four rebounds. Freshman Marlin Wise recorded a season-high 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field and posted five assists off the bench.
Both offenses set the tone early with a fast back-and-forth pace in the opening minutes. The lead changed hands six times in the first 3:35 before the River Hawks reeled off nine-straight points to go up 16-8 at the 15:43-mark after trailing 8-7. Susquehanna maintained a 20-12 lead at the 14:01-mark, but the Bears battled back with a 17-4 run to take a 27-24 advantage with 10:13 left in the first half. Three-straight triples powered the run for the Bears as they took their first lead since the opening two minutes of the game. The River Hawks responded with an 8-2 run of their own to take a 32-29 lead at the 8:14-mark of the first half. A three from Neylon knotted the game back up at 34 with 6:48 left in the first half and that started a stretch of each teams trading baskets for the next three minutes. Neylon gave the Bears the lead again at 43-40 following another three-pointer with 3:30 left in the first half and he capped off his big first half with a three-pointer in the final minute to send the game into halftime tied at 47.
Susquehanna came out sizzling in the second half as they used a 13-4 run to take a 60-51 advantage at the 15:33-mark of the second half. The River Hawks combined a stretch of strong shooting with a press that forced four Bears turnovers in that stretch. Ursinus countered with a 9-2 run behind four-straight made field goals to cut the River Hawks lead down to 62-60 at the 13:18-mark. Leading 69-64, Susquehanna used a 12-5 run to take an 81-69 lead at the 9:26-mark that was capped by back-to-back three-pointers. The River Hawks continued to stay hot from the field while taking advantage of multiple second chance opportunities and took their largest lead of the game at 88-74 with 7:30 remaining in regulation. Ursinus began to claw their way back into the game as they went on an 11-5 run to cut the Susquehanna lead down to eight points at 93-85. Susquehanna stretched its lead back out to double-digits at 107-97 with 1:21 remaining in regulation. The Bears made one last run at the River Hawks with a quick 8-1 burst to make it a one-possession game with 48 seconds left following a layup from Wall. However, Susquehanna slammed the door shut on the Ursinus rally with a wide open three-pointer on the next possession to go back up six at 111-105 and the Bears would get no closer than four points the rest of the way.
Despite the loss, Ursinus shot 61.9 percent (39-of-63) from the field and 14-of-25 (56%) from beyond the arc. The Bears went 19-of-25 (76%) from the free throw line and held a 24-16 advantage in fast break points. Meanwhile, the River Hawks shot 57.5 percent (42-of-73) from the field and 11-of-21 (51.1%) from beyond the arc. Susquehanna held a 34-27 rebounding advantage that led to a sizable 18-7 advantage in second chance points.
Jay Martin led six River Hawks in double-figures with a team-high 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field, grabbed six rebounds, and tallied five steals. Dominic Dunn added 23 points behind a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc and just missed out on a double-double with nine rebounds. Danny Frauenheim registered 18 points and a team-high six assists.
The Bears will return to action after a holiday break as they will travel to take on Washington College on Wednesday, January 5th at 8 p.m. in Centennial Conference play.