READING, Pa. – The Albright men's basketball team rallied from being down by as many as 18 points in the second half, but ultimately could not complete their comeback as they fell 69-67 to Susquehanna in the consolation game of the Crowne Plaza Holiday Tournament on Sunday afternoon.
 
With the loss, the Lions drop to 4-9 overall after suffering their third-straight loss. Meanwhile, the River Hawks of the Landmark Conference improve to 7-4 overall on the season.
 
Sophomore Samuel Majekodunmi was named to the All-Tournament Team after recording his 10^th 20-point game of the season. Majekodunmi registered 24 points behind going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, while adding three rebounds and one steal. For the tournament, he finished with 23.0 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game, and 2.5 steals per game. His classmate Christian Lane matched his career-high of 15 points off the bench and added two rebounds in the loss. Sophomore Sidney Brown recorded a career-high five steals in addition to having nine points and three assists. Senior Jared Rappoport led the Lions with seven rebounds, while adding three points, three assists, three steals, and two blocks to move his career total to 96.
 
The Lions started strong as they jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead just 1:42 into the contest, but the River Hawks quickly countered with five-straight points of their own to tie the game at the 16:50-mark. The game then went back and forth for the next 10 minutes as the teams combined for seven lead changes and five ties. With the game tied at 22 at the 8:05-mark, Susquehanna went on a 10-3 run that spanned 4:36 to take a 32-25 lead at the 3:29-mark. Majekodunmi would then give the Lions some momentum at the end of the first half as he hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to bring the River Hawks advantage down to 36-33.
 
Susquehanna came out blistering hot to begin the second half as they used an 18-3 run in the first 5:59 of the second half to take their largest lead of the game at 54-36 with 14:01 left in the second half. The Lions then went on a furious rally as they mounted a 15-2 run over a span of 4:26 to cut the River Hawk advantage down to five points at 56-51. Albright held Susquehanna without points for 4:16 after going 5:59 without a field goal during the River Hawks big run to start the second half. Down 59-52, the Lions scored five-straight points to make it a 59-57 game at the 4:43-mark following a three-pointer from Brown. The River Hawks responded with five-straight points of their own to go back up 64-57, but the Lions closed back in to 66-63 at the 2:10-mark after a short 6-2 run. Following a River Hawk basket, a pair of River Hawk turnovers and four free throws from Majekodunmi brought the Lions within one point at 68-67 with 24 seconds left. Susquehanna would split free throws to give the Lions a chance to tie or win the game. Unfortunately for the Lions, a long three-point attempt from the right side by Lane clanked off the rim to seal the win for Susquehanna.
 
The Lions shot 35.5 percent (22-of-62) from the field after shooting just 27.3 percent in the second half. Albright shot 28.6 percent (10-of-35) from beyond the arc, and a solid 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the free throw line. The Lions scored 27 points off River Hawk turnovers and received 25 points from their bench. Meanwhile, the River Hawks shot 46.3 percent (25-of-54) from the field after shooting 52.1 percent in the second half. Susquehanna shot 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from three-point range and went 10-of-12 (83.3%) from the free throw line. The River Hawks held a sizable 39-26 rebounding advantage that led to 12 second chance points.
 
Tyler Hoagland led Susquehanna with a team-high 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field in addition to having five rebounds and four assists. Zach Knecht added 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team. Matt LaCorte also posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Albright will return to action on Saturday, January 5^th as they will host Arcadia in a return to MAC Commonwealth play at 3 p.m.