SELINSGROVE, PA – The Susquehanna University men’s basketball team will host its first postseason game in seven years when Lebanon Valley visits O.W. Houts Gymnasium in the Commonwealth Conference semifinals on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

The Crusaders (17-7 overall, 11-3 Commonwealth) have won 12 of their last 13 games after opening the season 5-6 overall and 0-2 in conference play, while the Flying Dutchmen (13-12 overall, 8-6 Commonwealth) won its final five games to secure the fourth and final playoff spot in the league.

Susquehanna earned its first outright Commonwealth championship and captured the number-one seed in the postseason for the first time since 1995-96 after edging Widener 89-85 in front of a capacity crowd at Houts Gymnasium on Saturday, while Lebanon Valley knocked off Messiah 85-82 in double overtime in the final regular-season game at Lynch Gymnasium.

The Crusader victory gave Susquehanna’s Frank Marcinek his 200th win as head coach, and a win over Lebanon Valley on Wednesday will tie him with his predecessor, Susquehanna director of athletics Don Harnum, as the winningest men’s basketball coach in school history at 201 victories.

The teams split their two regular-season meetings, with Lebanon Valley blasting the visiting Crusaders 93-62 in the league opener on December 4 and Susquehanna picking up an 80-65 win in Selinsgrove on February 5. The latter contest started the Crusaders on their current six-game winning streak while the loss was the last suffered by the Dutchmen before embarking on their five-game run.

The winner of Wednesday’s game will play the winner of the other semifinal between Moravian and defending champion Elizabethtown on Saturday for the Commonwealth Conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Admission to Wednesday’s game is $5.00 for adults, $4.00 for seniors and $2.00 for students. Children age 6 and under are admitted free of charge. The game can be heard live on WQSU-FM (88.9) in Selinsgrove beginning with the pregame show at 7:15 p.m.

SUSQUEHANNA PREVIEW

The Crusaders have used a high-powered, balanced attack to win 17 games for the first time since finishing the 1993-94 season with a 19-7 record. Susquehanna’s bench has played a major factor in the team’s success over the last 12 games, averaging over 28 points per game during that stretch.

Leading the Crusader attack is the backcourt duo of juniors Nick Griffiths (Shamokin, PA/Shamokin Area H.S.) and Chris Zimmerman (Coal Township, PA/Shamokin Area H.S.), who averaged 13.3 and 13.2 points per game, respectively.

Griffiths has connected on a career-high 66 three-pointers this season, the third-highest single-season total in program history, and has drilled a school-record 171 three-pointers during his three-year career. Griffiths is shooting 40.7 percent from behind the arc and also leads the team with 50 steals.

Zimmerman’s return to the lineup after missing four starts with an ankle injury coincided with the Crusaders’ 12-1 run to end the regular season. A transfer from Division I Bucknell, Zimmerman leads the Commonwealth Conference with 5.8 assists per game and is also among the league’s top 10 in three-point field goal percentage (43.3 percent, fourth) and free-throw percentage (81.3 percent, eighth).

Zimmerman has dished out seven or more assists in 10 games this season, including a career-high tying 10 against Albright on January 18. He has also scored in double figures in 13 of the last 14 games.

The third Crusader starter averaging in double figures is senior forward Tim Hurd (Montvale, NJ/Pascack Hills H.S.), who is scoring 11.8 points per game and has hit double figures in 10 of the last 11 games. Over the last 11 games, Hurd is shooting 86.8 percent (66-of-76) from the foul line after shooting 65.2 percent (146-for-224) for the previous 67 games of his career.

Sophomore forward Bubba Mills (Reading, PA/Reading Central Catholic H.S.) has added 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 21 starts this season and ranks fifth in the Commonwealth Conference in field-goal percentage at 56.2 percent (73-for-130), while sophomore center Sam Snyder (Orwigsburg, PA/Nativity BVM H.S.) has started 14 games at center and averaged 3.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in just over 10 minutes per game.

Off the bench, junior guard Dan Rathmell (Windsor, NY/Windsor H.S.) has been the team’s top scorer with an average of 10.8 points per game. He has finished in double figures 12 times this season, including three 20-point games, and ranks 12th in the Commonwealth Conference in three-point field-goal percentage at 39.2 percent (29-for-74).

Freshman center Walter Fowler (Dingmans Ferry, PA/Delaware Valley H.S.) has emerged as a shot-blocking force in the paint for the Crusaders. Over the last 12 games, Fowler has rejected 39 shots (3.25 per game) and for the season leads the conference with a school-record 64 blocked shots in 24 contests (2.67 average).

Fowler has also chipped in with 8.5 points and a team-high 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting 57.5 percent from the field to rank fourth in the conference in field-goal percentage. He has recorded three double-doubles this season and set a program record with eight blocked shots against Moravian on January 28.

Senior center Zigmas Kaknevicius (Kintai, Lithuania/Long Island Lutheran H.S.) has adjusted well to coming off the bench after starting for the first 3 ½ seasons of his Susquehanna career, and is averaging 5.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting 53.8 percent from the field.

Junior forward Phil Sander (Hancock, NY/Walton Central H.S.) missed the first six games of the season while studying in London during the fall semester, but has been a factor at both ends of the court since his return. He is averaging 4.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and has blocked 20 shots in 18 contests (1.11 per game).

Sander has been solid from the field over the last six games, averaging 7.2 points per game including 12-point performances against both Albright and Moravian. His two foul shots with 15 seconds left against Widener on Saturday gave the Crusaders a three-point lead and forced the Pioneers into a desperation three-point attempt that failed.

Providing solid backcourt support has been junior point guard Rob Okonak (Lebanon, PA/Lebanon H.S.) and sophomore shooting guard James Barile (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa H.S.). Okonak has averaged 1.8 assists in just over 10 minutes per game and has an impressive 41-19 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season, while Barile has brought intensity and emotion to the court while adding 3.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per game.

LEBANON VALLEY PREVIEW

After dropping five straight at midseason to fall to 6-10 overall, the Flying Dutchmen split their next four league games to stand at 3-6 in the Commonwealth Conference with five games left.

From there, Lebanon Valley won their final five games, including two-point wins at Elizabethtown and Juniata and a three-point win in double overtime against Messiah in the season finale to capture the final playoff spot.

The Dutchmen are led by sophomore guard J.D. Byers, who is fifth in the league in scoring at 17.0 points per game and has connected on 77 three-pointers on the year. He scored 41 points against Messiah in the season finale, including a game-tying halfcourt shot as time expired in the first overtime session to force the second overtime period.

Senior center Darren Pugh was named first-team All-Conference last season and should repeat the honor this year as he is averaging 15.6 points and a league-best 12.2 rebounds per game. In the Dutchmen’s last trip to Selinsgrove on February 5, Pugh surpassed the 1,000 point mark in his career en route to game highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Pugh is third in the conference in field-goal percentage (58.9 percent) and seventh in free-throw percentage (81.8 percent), leading the league with both 153 free throws and 187 attempts.

Junior guard Evan Harlor has added 13.2 points per game and has drilled 66 shots from three-point range, while freshman Dave Kasyan (5.3 points per game) and sophomore Steve Buzinski (4.3 points per game) round out the Dutchmen frontcourt.