SELINSGROVE, Pa. - The Haverford College men's basketball team (6-5) returned to action for the first time after the holiday break, falling to Susquehanna (9-3), 93-86, opening up the 2022 portion of the season with non-conference action at Orlando Houts Gymnasium on the Susquehanna campus.
Haverford tallied five scorers in double figures, with Harry Johnson coming off the bench to register a team-best 20 points, matching a career high, to go with seven rebounds. Jackson Ryan (15 points), Nate Torres (12 points), Josh Love (12 points), and Ryan Trotter (11 points) also notched double-digit outputs on the night.
In the early goings, it was the offensive game plan of the Riverhawks that helped the hosts to an early 7-2 advantage, but Trotter connected on a runner to trim the lead to just three four minutes into the contest and Torres helped the Fords claw back within two at 10-8, as Coach Doherty called for timeout with just over 14 minutes to play. Love connected on a runner to give the Fords their first lead of the night at 22-21 with just over nine minutes remaining in the opening stanza. The offensive spurt continued with Johnson and Ryan making their mark on the box score as the Fords opened up a 29-21 lead with a 9-0 run that stretched the midpoint of the first half.
An immediate answer came in the form of a methodical 16-0 run for the Riverhawks, which prompted a Haverford timeout with 2:28 to play. Susquehanna roared back to take a 37-29 lead with under three minutes remaining in the half. Both teams shot well over 50 percent from the field in the first half, with the hosts excelling from beyond the arc (50 percent) and holding a slight 14-12 edge in rebounds going into the locker rooms.
The Fords looked strong out of the gates in the second, with a pair of free throws from Nicholas Stewart trimming the lead to just three. An 8-0 run for the Riverhawks was later punctuated by a steal by Howie Rankine, who dished to Jay Martin for a 62-50 lead with 10:23 showing on the game clock. Martin finished with a game-best 22 points.
Undaunted, the Fords had another answer late, as Torres helped lead the charge in the key. With the Riverhawks seemingly well in command at 71-57, the Fords answered with a strong stretch to trim the advantage to just eight at 77-69. The hosts climbed back to a brief double-digit lead at 84-73, but a trey from Ryan put Haverford right back in it, down just two possessions at 86-80 with under a minute remaining in regulation.
Forced to put Susquehanna at the free-throw line, the Fords were ultimately outlasted despite just a 16-23 night at the charity line for the hosts. The Riverhawks held a slight 31-30 lead on the glass and limited turnovers in the contest. In an evenly matched affair, the hosts also held an advantage from beyond the arc, pouring in seven of 17 attempts from downtown.
Haverford was making its first trip to Susquehanna since the 1977-78 season. Prior to Tuesday, the team last met in a neutral site contest in Pittsburgh in 1997, a 66-59 win for the Riverhawks in overtime.
The Fords now hop right back into conference action with a contest against No. 12 Johns Hopkins on Saturday, January 8 at Gooding '84 Arena. Tip-off for that contest is slated for approximately 1 p.m. as the game will take place ahead of the women taking on the Blue Jays at 3 p.m.
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