Kevin Cuff and Matt McDevitt each added 12 points as the Crusaders (15-8 overall, 7-5 Commonwealth) nearly squandered a double-digit lead on two occasions but held on for the victory over the Lions (9-13 overall, 4-8 Commonwealth).
Phil Hall came off the bench for Albright and scored a season-high 21 points, including three three-pointers, but the Lions committed 17 turnovers and connected on just 5-of-20 shots from beyond the arc in the contest.
Patch reached double figures for the 11 th consecutive game for Susquehanna by shooting 8-for-15 from the field and 4-for-4 from the foul line, while adding three assists and two blocked shots. Cuff scored in double figures for the 22nd time in as many games this season, and pulled four rebounds in 36 minute of action.
McDevitt scored 10 of the Crusaders' first 19 points as Susquehanna rolled to a 23-12 lead just eight minutes into the contest, and carried the 11-point lead to intermission at 38-27 as Patch led all players with 14 points while McDevitt tallied 11 points and four assists in the opening 20 minutes.
Albright scored the first nine points of the second half as part of a 12-1 run that brought the Lions within 39-38 on a layup by Albert Medoro with 14:17 remaining. However, the Crusaders promptly reeled off 11 of the next 13 points to move ahead 50-40 on a layup by Patch with 10:49 left.
The Lions fought back to within 52-50 behind the long-range shooting of the 6-9 Hall, who drilled consecutive three-pointers to help trim the Crusader lead to two with 6:37 left. Susquehanna regained the upper hand for good thanks to Brad Okonak, who connected on a jumper and a three-pointer to push the Crusader lead to 60-51 with 2:57 left.
Okonak finished with nine points in the contest – all in the final four minutes – as he sank four foul shots in the final minute. As a team, Susquehanna went 15-for-20 from the foul line including 7-for-8 in the last 1:02.
Medoro joined Hall in double figures for Albright with 16 points and eight rebounds, but played just 24 minutes as he battled foul trouble. Matt Kieselowsky added seven points and eight assists, but fouled out with just under a minute remaining.
As a team, Susquehanna shot 38.7 percent (24-for-62) from the field while Albright hit 41 percent (25-for-61) from the floor. The Lions finished with a 40-38 edge in rebounds led by nine by Tom Murphy.
SUSQUEHANNA 69, ALBRIGHT 62 ALBRIGHT (9-13, 4-8 Comm) Phil Hall 8-12 2-2 21; Albert Medoro 7-14 2-2 16; Kyle Brudvig 3-6 3-5 9; Matt Kieselowsky 3-9 0-0 7; Tom Murphy 2-10 0-0 4; Andre Murphy 1-5 0-0 3; Alex Schneider 1-1 0-0 2; Greg Conroy 0-3 0-0 0; Taylor Steltz 0-1 0-0 0; John Bernat 0-0 0-0 0; Michael Boles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-61 7-9 62. SUSQUEHANNA (15-8, 7-5 Comm) Joel Patch 8-15 4-4 20; Matt McDevitt 4-7 2-4 12; Kevin Cuff 4-13 3-3 12; Brad Okonak 2-4 4-4 9; Andy Gaebel 3-12 1-3 8; Zac Smith 2-5 0-0 5; Bryan Majors 1-6 1-2 3; Chad Cohle 0-0 0-0 0; Marcus Burke 0-0 0-0 0; Brandon Andersen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-62 15-20 69. Albright...................... 27 35 - 62 Susquehanna................... 38 31 - 69 3-point goals-Albright 5-20 (Phil Hall 3-6; Matt Kieselowsky 1-4; Andre Murphy 1-4; Tom Murphy 0-3; Greg Conroy 0-2; Albert Medoro 0-1), Susquehanna 6-23 (Matt McDevitt 2-4; Brad Okonak 1-3; Kevin Cuff 1-3; Zac Smith 1-3; Andy Gaebel 1-9; Bryan Majors 0-1). Fouled out--Albright-Matt Kieselowsky, Susquehanna-None. Rebounds-Albright 40 (Tom Murphy 9), Susquehanna 38 (Joel Patch 9). Assists-Albright 15 (Matt Kieselowsky 8), Susquehanna 13 (Matt McDevitt 4; Bryan Majors 4). Total fouls-Albright 18, Susquehanna 11. A-1000