News Release

SCRANTON, Pa. — Zac Smith scored a career-high 16 points and dished out six assists as Susquehanna University defeated Morrisville State College 74-56 in the opening game of the Radisson Invitational at the University of Scranton's John Long Center on Saturday evening.

Bryan Majors and Brad Okonak added 14 points apiece as the Crusaders (8-4) advance to Sunday's championship game at 3:00 p.m. against the host Royals, who routed Pratt Institute 104-46 in Saturday's other opening-round game.

Smith, making his first start of the season, shot 6-for-11 from the field and 4-for-9 from three-point range as the Crusaders outscored the Mustangs (2-8) by a 42-25 margin in the second half after leading 32-31 at halftime.

Majors reached double figure for the first time this season and also made a season-high six steals for Susquehanna, which held Morrisville State to 27.5 percent shooting (19-for-69) on the evening.

Joe McCants led Morrisville State with 20 points and 11 rebounds while Dodrick Spencer chipped in with 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as the Mustangs finished with a 51-39 advantage in rebounding in the contest.

The Crusaders led by one at halftime despite shooting 35.3 percent (12-for-34) from the field in the half. Majors paced Susquehanna with seven points in the first half while McCants led the Mustangs with 13 points and five rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.

Susquehanna never relinquished the lead in the second half, using a 16-4 run to take a 50-37 lead with 13:02 remaining on a basket by Matt McDevitt. The Mustangs, who did not score a field goal over the final 7 minutes, 52 seconds, pulled within 57-50 on a foul shot by McCants with 6:13 to play but were outscored 17-6 to the finish by the Crusaders.

Okonak went 6-for-6 from the foul line and added a pair of Susquehanna's 10 three-pointers in the contest, while Kevin Cuff reached double figures with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds and Joel Patch grabbed eight boards and blocked three shots in just 17 minutes of action.

SUSQUEHANNA 74, MORRISVILLE ST. 56
MORRISVILLE ST. (2-8)
Joe McCants 7-14 6-7 20; Dodrick Spencer 4-9 5-8 13; Terrell Armstead 3-12
0-0 6; Davon Williams 2-5 0-0 5; Garnell Vaughn 1-7 2-4 4; Adebowale
Olasokan 1-8 1-2 4; Kyle Buell 1-3 0-0 3; Jamal Davis 0-5 1-2 1; Dwight
McDonald 0-1 0-0 0; Cesar Martinez 0-5 0-0 0; Walter Budden 0-0 0-0 0;
Jerrell Whitted 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-69 15-23 56.
SUSQUEHANNA (8-4)
Zac Smith 6-11 0-0 16; Bryan Majors 5-8 4-5 14; Brad Okonak 3-5 6-6 14;
Kevin Cuff 5-15 0-0 11; Andy Gaebel 2-5 0-0 6; Josh Robinson 2-6 0-0 5;
Brandon Andersen 2-4 0-0 4; Joel Patch 1-5 0-0 2; Matt McDevitt 1-5 0-0 2;
Marcus Burke 0-0 0-0 0; Moose Marshall 0-0 0-0 0; Chad Cohle 0-0 0-0 0; 
Todd DeNapoli 0-0 0-0 0; Sam Thomas 0-0 0-0 0; Kyle Laird 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 27-64 10-11 74.
Morrisville St................   31   25  -   56
Susquehanna...................   32   42  -   74
3-point goals-Morrisville St. 3-18 (Davon Williams 1-1; Adebowale Olasokan
1-5; Kyle Buell 1-2; Jamal Davis 0-4; Cesar Martinez 0-5; Dodrick Spencer
0-1), Susquehanna 10-25 (Zac Smith 4-9; Andy Gaebel 2-4; Brad Okonak 2-4;
Kevin Cuff 1-2; Josh Robinson 1-4; Matt McDevitt 0-1; Bryan Majors 0-1).
Fouled out--Morrisville St.-None, Susquehanna-None. Rebounds-Morrisville St.
51 (Joe McCants 11; Terrell Armstead 11; Dodrick Spencer 11), Susquehanna 39
(Kevin Cuff 9). Assists-Morrisville St. 15 (Dodrick Spencer 5), Susquehanna
20 (Zac Smith 6). Total fouls-Morrisville St. 13, Susquehanna 16. A-175