Box Score

WILLIAMSPORT, Penn. – A long layoff and a strong opponent took its toll on the Rutgers University-Camden men's basketball team here Monday night in the opening round of the Louis Fleming Basinger Memorial Tournament at Lycoming College.
 
The Scarlet Raptors fell into a 21-point halftime hole and, despite a strong second-half comeback, ended up losing to Susquehanna University 82-63, in the second game of the evening.
 
In the first game of the night, host Lycoming rolled over Penn State-Brandywine, 98-75.
 
In Tuesday's action, Penn State- Brandywine will face Rutgers-Camden in a 1 p.m. consolation game. The championship game, scheduled for 3 p.m., will feature Lycoming College against Susquehanna University.
 
After Rutgers-Camden (4-4) scored the first three points of the game on a foul shot and a layup by senior guard Wyatt Polk (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial), Susquehanna (7-3) stormed back with 12 straight points, while holding the Scarlet Raptors scoreless over a 6:29 span, to take the lead for good. A pair of juniors, guard Brandon Hedley (Silver Spring, MD/Salisbury Prep) and guard/forward Josh Miller (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter Strasburg), had five points apiece in the Crusaders' run.
 
The Crusaders, who led by as many as 27 points (42-15) in the opening half, held a commanding 45-24 lead at halftime, sparked by 12 points from sophomore guard Jason Dietrich (Maytown, PA/Donegal) and 11 from Hedley. The Scarlet Raptors, who shot only 8-for-28 (28.6 percent) from the floor in the opening half, received 16 points from Polk in the opening 20 minutes.

Susquehanna shot 15-for-30 (50.0) from the floor in the opening half. The Crusaders were 8-for-15 (53.3) from three-point range, compared to the Scarlet Raptors' 1-for-8 (12.5).


Led by the hot shooting of Polk, who finished with a game-high 35 points, one shy of his Raptor career high, Rutgers-Camden mounted a rally in the second half. The Raptors cut their gap to eight points, at 55-47, with 13:16 remaining on a three-pointer by senior guard K.J. Brown (Sicklerville, NJ/Living Faith Christian Academy). A three-pointer by Polk again sliced the gap to eight points (63-55) with 9:54 remaining, but the Crusaders answered with three consecutive treys, quickly raising the gap to 17 points (72-55) with 7:37 remaining. Two of those treys were by Dietrich. The Scarlet Raptors never came closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
 
Hedley and Dietrich finished with 20 points apiece for Susquehanna, while Miller added 12. Dietrich also added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Sophomore guard Steven Weidlich (Watchung, NJ/Watchung Hills) added nine points, nine rebounds, three steals and a game-high six assists.
 
Susquehanna finished its night 29-for-56 (51.8) from the floor, including 15-for-29 (51.7) from three-point range. The Crusaders also held a 40-37 edge off the boards.
 
Rutgers-Camden shot 22-for-58 (37.9) from the floor, including 5-for-17 (29.4) from three-point range.
 
Polk finished his night 11-for-23 from the floor (4-for-9 from three-point range) and 9-for-11 at the line. He added a team-high nine rebounds and a game-high four steals. Junior guard Julian Martin (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) finished with 10 points and a team-high three assists.
 
Senior guard/forward Alex Smart (Sicklerville, NJ/Timber Creek), making his season debut in his last semester of eligibility, notched six points, seven rebounds and two assists, while Brown collected seven points.