Ready for February Madness

SELINSGROVE, Pa. — As the calendar turns to February, attention turns to the battle for playoff position throughout the Commonwealth Conference. While the women’s team (12-6 overall, 6-3 Commonwealth) is firmly entrenched in third place and seems a lock for the postseason, the men’s squad (8-9 overall, 2-7 Commonwealth) has fallen to seventh place in the standings with just five league games remaining.

Both teams will head to Moravian for a Commonwealth Conference doubleheader on Tuesday before hosting Lycoming in a non-league twinbill on Saturday afternoon. In the interim, the men will travel to Mt. Aloysius for a 7 p.m. non-conference game on Thursday.

Moravian’s men are 4-13 overall and 1-8 in the Commonwealth Conference, but they are 4-4 at Johnston Hall this season. Susquehanna’s men are 5-2 in their last seven trips to Bethlehem and defeated Moravian 78-61 in Selinsgrove on December 6.

Meanwhile, the Lady Greyhounds are 8-10 overall and 3-6 in the conference, including a pair of victories over Widener. The Crusaders have won three straight at Moravian and five straight overall against the Lady Greyhounds, including a 64-52 win at home in December.

Lycoming’s men’s team is deep in the chase for a Freedom Conference playoff berth, at 5-4 in league play. The women’s team is 3-6 in the conference.

THE MEN’S REPORT

The Crusaders had no answer for the long-range shooting of Messiah on Wednesday night as the Falcons drilled 12 three-pointers on their way to an 81-64 win at Houts Gymnasium. Susquehanna was outrebounded 46-20 and committed 21 turnovers in the loss.

On Saturday, nationally-ranked Widener was taken to the limit by a scrappy Crusader squad, but the Pioneers emerged with a 71-66 victory. Susquehanna enjoyed a solid day at the line by hitting 22-of-23 attempts, but 2-for-19 shooting from three-point range proved to be the difference in defeat..

The Starters

SG Mike Witcoskie (Senior, Annville, Pa./Palmyra H.S.) — After matching his season low with three points against Messiah, Witcoskie rebounded to score 11 points in 37 minutes of action against Widener. He also tied for the team lead with three assists against the Pioneers, and connected on one three-pointer to lift his season total to a team-best 42 threes. Witcoskie also owns the team’s best assist-turnover ratio at 1.67 (40 assists, 24 TO).

PG Nick Griffiths (Freshman, Shamokin, Pa./Shamokin Area H.S.) — Griffiths led the Crusaders in scoring for the second time this season with 15 points, including four three-pointers, against Messiah. He continues to lead the team in assists with 47 and steals with 25, while his 30 three-pointers rank second on the team. Griffiths has hit at least one three-pointer in 14 of Susquehanna’s 17 games this season.

PF Brad Rausch (Senior, Middletown, N.J./Middletown South H.S.) — Rausch scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds against Widener, his seventh double-figure scoring performance of the season. Rausch also connected on all eight of his free-throw attempts against the Pioneers and has been successful on 18 of his last 21 tries from the stripe to boost his season average to a career-best 70.3 percent.

SF Corey Green (Junior, Roselle, N.J./Roselle Catholic H.S.) — Green narrowly missed his fifth performance of 20 or more points this season when he scored a game-high 18 against Widener. He has played a team-high 559 minutes and has played at least 30 minutes in 13 of Susquehanna’s 17 games. Green leads the Crusaders in field goals (99), attempts (258), free throws made (53) and attempts (71), rebounds (121) and scoring (16.1 ppg).

C Zigmas Kaknevicius (Sophomore, Bethpage, N.Y./Long Island Lutheran H.S.) — In two games last week, Kaknevicius hit 7-of-9 shots from the field to improve his field-goal percentage to a team-best 54.5 percent. Kaknevicius has shot 50 percent or better from the field 13 times this season, and better than 60 percent eight times. After going five games without a block, Kaknevicius matched his season high with three rejections against Messiah.

Off the Bench

Sophomore guard Tim Hurd (Montvale, N.J./Pascack Hills H.S.) continues to emerge as the sixth man off the Crusader bench, as he scored a career-high 14 points in 21 minutes against Messiah and followed with eight points and four boards against Widener. Over the last five games, Hurd is averaging 7.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Lafayette Melton (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt H.S.) has played at least 15 minutes in each of the last four games, and tallied four points on 2-for-3 shooting against Widener.

THE WOMEN’S REPORT

The Crusaders gave nationally-ranked Messiah all they could handle on Wednesday night, but the Commonwealth-leading Falcons converted four free throws in the final 4.1 seconds to escape with a 58-54 win. It was the first home loss in seven games for the Crusaders, who saw Messiah shoot a perfect 16-for-16 from the free-throw line.

Saturday was a better day for the women’s team as the Crusaders held Widener to just 29.7 percent from the field en route to a 68-54 victory. Karyn Kern scored 20 of her game-high 26 points in the second half while Widener connected on just 5-of-23 from long range.

The Starters

SG Alison Ream (Sophomore, Mifflintown, Pa./Juniata H.S.) — Ream dished out a season-high six assists against Widener on the heels of a five-assist performance against Messiah. Ream is second on the team in assists with 57 and continues to lead the squad in free-throw percentage at 77.8 percent.

PG Susan Trella (Senior, Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic H.S.) — In her 93rd consecutive game and 82nd straight start, Trella became just the second player to surpass 400 career assists at Susquehanna with five helpers against Widener. Trella has recorded more turnovers than assists in just six of Susquehanna’s 18 games and she leads the team in three-point percentage at 38.9 (7-for-18).

PF Leslie Clementoni (Senior, Hughesville, Pa./Hughesville H.S.) — Clementoni nearly hit her season averages last week as she tallied 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in two games. She remains second on the team in rebounding at 6.5 per game and third in scoring at 8.9 per contest. Clementoni shot 4-for-8 against Widener for her first game at 50 percent from the field in the last nine games.

SF Amy Harrington (Junior, Danville, Pa./Danville H.S.) — Harrington continues to scorch the nets from behind the three-point arc, hitting three from downtown in both games last week. She has hit three or more three-pointers in seven games this season, including four of Susquehanna’s last seven contests. Harrington needs just five threes to tie her own single season school record of 38 set last year.

C Karyn Kern (Senior, Brodheadsville, Pa./Pleasant Valley H.S.) — After going four games without a double-double, Kern notched a pair last week to increase her career total to 52. She scored a season-high 26 points against Widener to boost her career total to 1,659, while her 10 rebounds brought her within four of the Crusader career mark of 996 set from 1991 to 1995 by Megan Lytle. Kern has also blocked at least one shot in eight straight games.

Off the Bench

Sophomore forward Kait Gillis (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity H.S.) has led the bench in scoring in each of the last two games, including six points, three rebounds and three assists against Widener. Sophomore forward Emily Kurtz (St. Marys, Pa./St. Marys H.S.) was held scoreless in five minutes against Widener, but she still leads all subs in scoring at 3.6 points per game. Freshman forward Amanda Hartzell (Janesville, Iowa/Lewisburg, Pa. H.S.) has moved into the rotation and connected on five straight field goals over three games.