Susquehanna silences New Jersey men's basketball team, 78-64

The New Jersey men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought contest on Monday evening, falling to Susquehanna University by a score of 78-64 at the Houts Gymnasium in Selinsgrove, PA. With the loss, the Knights fell to 9-8 on the 2013-2014 campaign, while the Crusaders improved to 7-4.

Despite the loss for the Knights, it was Dukens Germain scoring 12 points to go along with five rebounds and four steals. Tasheen Carrow netted 11 points, dished three assists and snatched three rebounds, and Vince Richmond dropped in 10 points as well.

For Susquehanna University, senior center Harly Sellinger and sophomore guard Brandon Hedley each contributed 18 points apiece for their squad. Sellinger connected on 10-of-13 from the charity stripe and grabbed nine rebounds while Hedley dished six assists. Steven Weidlich recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds and senior Jake Eskin finished the night with a solid all-around effort with 10 points, six boards and six assists.

The Crusaders jumped out to a nine-point lead (20-11) with 12:33 remaining in the first half after a layup by junior Matt McGugan and extended the advantage to 11 points after a pair of free throws by Sellinger with 11:22 remaining in the opening session. The Knights pulled within six after a fastbreak dunk by Germain with a little less than 10 minutes left in the half. The Knights slashed the Susquehanna lead to four (34-30) with 3:47 remaining before a McGugan jumper and Sellinger foul shot gave the Crusaders a 37-30 lead. Berkeley College scored the final five points of the opening period to go into the locker room down by a pair.

The Knights knotted the contest at 37 in the opening minutes of the second half and would claim their first lead (40-39) at the 17:22 mark. From there, the Crusaders put together a 16-5 run which was capped off by a three-point play by Wally Rutecki, as Susquehanna went ahead by 10 points - 55-45 - with 10:26 remaining in the contest. Berkeley cut the Crusader lead to eight (64-56) with less than four minutes to go, but the Crusaders converted on 12 free throws in the closing minutes to pull away from the Knights and win the game.

Berkeley College will now enjoy six days before returning to action on January 13, when the Knights take to the road to battle Penn College of Technology. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for 7:00pm.