Nick Griffiths added five three-pointers and finished with 17 points as the Crusaders (13-4 overall, 5-2 Commonwealth) moved back into a tie for first place in the league with Lebanon Valley and Widener with their third straight victory.
Terron Buchanon paced the Lions (9-8 overall, 3-4 Commonwealth) with 23 points, including 18 in the second half, while Trevor Deeter chipped in with 22 points and 11 rebounds as Albright used a 22-5 run to nearly pull off the stunning comeback.
Griffiths hit 5-of-8 from beyond the arc to increase his school-record career total to 217 and move into 18th place on the Susquehanna career scoring list with 1,126 points.
Chris Zimmerman equaled his career high with 10 assists and added 16 points while Bubba Mills contributed 15 points and five rebounds for the Crusaders along with a key blocked shot in the final minute.
Dan Rathmell was the fifth Crusader starter in double figures as he finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Susquehanna’s five starters combined for 80 of the Crusaders’ 84 points in the game.
Susquehanna shot 49.1 percent from the field in the game and hit 23-of-34 from the foul line to surpass the 80-point mark for the eighth time this season but first in the last seven games. The Crusaders also placed all five starters in double figures for the fifth time this season.
A trio of three-pointers, two from Griffiths and one from Zimmerman, sparked a 13-0 first-half run to push the Crusaders ahead 23-15, and Susquehanna added a 10-0 run to close the half to go to the locker room with a 46-30 lead.
Susquehanna shot 56.7 percent from the field in the first half, including 6-of-9 from three-point range, while Albright mustered just 2-of-13 from behind the arc and 35.9 percent overall in the opening 20 minutes.
The Crusaders continued their onslaught in the second half, taking their biggest lead of the game on two foul shot from Sander with 16:38 to play at 57-35. The next 11 minutes belonged to Albright as Buchanon scored 12 of the Lions’ next 28 points, the final three with 5:17 left to cut Susquehanna’s advantage to 69-66.
A three-point play by Ben Gallagher brought Albright within 73-71 at the 3:04 mark, and after an exchange of foul shots Sander hit a key layup with 2:20 left to give the Crusaders a 76-72 lead. The Lions would creep back within four on two more occasions, but the Crusaders hit six foul shots in the final 22 seconds to secure their fifth straight win over Albright since the end of the 2001-02 season.
Deeter shot 8-of 13 from the field for the Lions, who finished the game at 40.9 percent (27-of-66). The Lions held a 39-37 advantage on the glass with Gallagher and Lee Walter pulling six apiece.
ALBRIGHT (9-9, 3-4 Comm.) Terron Buchanon 7-14 7-8 23; Trevor Deeter 8-13 5-10 22; Ben Gallagher 3-8 5-9 11; Matt Kieselowsky 3-8 0-0 6; Lee Walter 3-6 0-0 6; Mike Boles 1-4 2-2 4; Andy Winebrenner 1-2 0-0 3; Elu Lawrence 1-6 0-0 2; Chris Blatt 0-3 0-0 0; Jarel Gallman 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-66 19-29 77. SUSQUEHANNA (13-4, 5-2 Comm.) Phil Sander 5-8 9-14 19; Nick Griffiths 6-12 0-0 17; Chris Zimmerman 6-13 3-4 16; Bubba Mills 4-7 7-8 15; Dan Rathmell 5-12 2-4 13; James Barile 1-2 0-1 2; Rob Okonak 0-1 0-0 0; T.J. Parry 0-0 2-2 2; Sam Snyder 0-0 0-0 0; Walter Fowler 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 27-55 23-34 84. Albright...................... 30 47 - 77 Susquehanna................... 46 38 - 84 3-point goals-Albright 4-18 (Terron Buchanon 2-4; Andy Winebrenner 1-2; Trevor Deeter 1-1; Mike Boles 0-1; Elu Lawrence 0-2; Chris Blatt 0-3; Matt Kieselowsky 0-3; Ben Gallagher 0-2), Susquehanna 7-16 (Nick Griffiths 5-8; Chris Zimmerman 1-4; Dan Rathmell 1-4). Fouled out--Albright-None, Susquehanna-None. Rebounds-Albright 39 (Trevor Deeter 11), Susquehanna 37 (Phil Sander 12). Assists-Albright 9 (Elu Lawrence 5), Susquehanna 16 (Chris Zimmerman 10). Total fouls-Albright 27, Susquehanna 22. A-500