By Todd Hummel
SELINSGROVE -- Susquehanna coach Frank Marcinek has noticed over the last few weeks that something hasn't been quite right with his Crusaders. "We just have not been clicking," Marcinek said. "We just haven't been making a lot of hustle plays."
Early in Saturday's Landmark Conference battle with visiting Drew, those same problems surfaced as the Crusaders quickly fell behind by 11 points in the opening 10 minutes of the game.
"We just weren't playing hard enough. (Drew) was playing at a whole lot faster pace than us," Susquehanna freshman forward Harvey Pannell said.
So with a boost from Pannell and the bench, Marcinek started to see the hustle plays he was looking for and the Rangers never found an answer as Susquehanna rebounded for a 74-62 victory over at O.W. Houts Gymnasium.
The Crusaders' (13-9 overall, 6-5 LC) weekend didn't get off to a good start, losing by 10 points to conference leader Merchant Marine Academy on Friday night and Saturday didn't appear to be much better. Spenser Spencer, the second-leading scorer in the Landmark, spent the game with Drew on Saturday afternoon in his street clothes in what Marcinek termed a "coach's decision." So when Mike Mayes hit a driving layup with 10:03 left in the first half to give Drew a 25-14 lead, it looked like it was going to be a lost weekend for the Crusaders.
But three big things changed for Susquehanna: it's man defense got better, Marcinek went to his bench and Pannell started attacking the basketball against Drew's 2-3 zone.
"Our bench did a great job, it was big the way we played," Marcinek said. "Brenden (Rezny) made a great hustle play where he ran a ball down before it went out of bounds then found someone for an open jumper. I really think that started us really hustling as a team. It was a spark."
"We just weren't moving early in the game. We were standing outside the arc, missing jumpers," Pannell said. "We know the best way to attack a zone is to get into the gaps. When we started doing that, we were getting layups."
On the defensive side of things, Mayes bucket was the final Rangers' field goal of the half as they scored just two points, from the foul line, the rest of the way.
Susquehanna ended the first half on a 24-2 run to turn its 11-point deficit into a 12-point advantage at halftime. Pannell had 10 of his 13 points in the spurt, including the final six points of the half, capped by a putback at the buzzer. Pannell finished the game with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
"Harvey has the ability, but we need him to be aggressive on the offensive end and on the glass," Marcinek said.
Susquehanna's bench played a huge role in the victory, combining for 12 points, 18 rebounds and 10 of the team's 16 assists in the game. Rezny, who played just 35 minutes all season, had six assists, four rebounds and no turnovers in 28 minutes. Jason Dawson added four assists and five rebounds. Warrior Run graduate Trevor Williamson added 10 points and five rebounds.
The Crusaders would build an 18-point second half lead early on, but Drew was able to get back within seven points after Kenny Joyce hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, but junior guard Rob Estep and senior forward Marcus Burke combined to put the game away.
They both scored six points down the stretch to push Susquehanna's lead back to double digits. Once again another Landmark Conference team lacked an answer for the 6-foot-2 Burke inside, who despite playing only 23 minutes because of foul problems, led the Crusaders with 19 points. Pannell sympathizes with his opponents.
"He's just stronger than everyone else. I had to go against him a lot in preseason," Pannell said. "But we won't say what happen, but let's just say Marcus is a beast."
Estep, who didn't play in last weekend's doubleheader because of an injury, had 13 of his 15 points in the second half.
WOMEN
n Susquehanna 65, Drew 46
SELINSGROVE -- Freshman Gina Palazzi had her first career double-double and the Crusaders rolled to the easy victory on "Pink Zone" Day.
Palazzi came off the bench to score a dozen points and grab 12 boards, including seven offensive rebounds in 15 minutes of action.
Susquehanna (13--9, 7--4 Landmark) jumped out to a 9--3 advantage over Drew (11--10, 2--9 Landmark) in the first 6 minutes, 29 seconds of the game. Drew answered back with a 9--2 run to take its only lead of the game at 12--11 with 8:32 remaining in the first half. After Palazzi sank a free throw to tie the game at 12, the Crusaders went on a 15--6 run to post a 27--18 halftime lead.
SU's senior guard Ashley Watkins notched 12 points and five boards off the bench. Sophomore Jessica Zigarelli chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
