SUSQUEHANNA - The Sabers hosted their rival Blue Ridge Friday night for their regular season finale. The Raiders got out to the early lead, but the Sabers started building momentum, hitting a buzzer beater before the half, then dominated the second half for the 55-40 victory.

The Raiders started off the first quarter with good ball movement, spreading the ball around using four different player to score their 15 points.

William Hobart converted a tough and one, notching five points in the opening stanza. Gehrig Dibble and Brandon Carpanetti added a couple buckets apiece, Andrew Kowalewski chipped in with another.

Mason Keyes had the hot hand for the Sabers, finding the soft spot in their zone defense and burying a trio of three pointers notching all nine points for Susquehanna. After eight minutes the score was 15-9 Blue Ridge.

The second quarter was a back and forth affair, Dibble paced the Raiders offense totaling 10 points. He knocked down four field goals and a pair from the line, including an and one of his own. Hobart chipped in with two points to round out the first half scoring for the Raiders.

Keyes again led the Sabers offensive attack notching five points and getting three the old fashion way with the hoop and the harm.  

Griffin Fisk sank a pair of two pointers, Hudson Stengel drained his first of three triples on the night. Linden Baker went three of four from the stripe and Jordan Burke was one of two.

Keyes had a huge offensive rebound and put back as time expired in the first half, cutting the Raiders lead to just two points and give the Sabers all the momentum at the break.

Susquehanna dominated the third quarter, playing shut down defense while catching fire from the perimeter and scoring points in transition.

The trio of Keyes, Fisk and Stengel each nailed one from behind the arc. Keyes and Fisk each added another bucket scoring five points in the period.

The Sabers got a pair of points apiece from Baker, Jaxon Downton and senior Rykin Hobart to round out the 19 point scoring flurry for the Sabers.

W. Hobart and Kowalewski each scored two points for the Raiders only points of the stanza, heading into the final eight minutes they were down 44-31.

The Sabers defense held Blue Ridge to single digits on the scoreboard again in the final frame to secure the win. Carpanetti scored a bucket and made a pair at the line, Jacek Motyka added three points and W. Hobart had two.

Stengel and Burke each canned threes, Fisk and Downton each hit a bucket and R. Hobart converted a free throw. When the final buzzer of the regular season sounded it was Susquehanna winning a physical game 55-40.

The Sabers turned in a solid second half performance to pull out the win on senior night, head coach Lawrence Tompkins was pleased with how well his team played in the second half. I asked him what the second half game plan was as they held Dibble scoreless after the break.

"I am very proud of my team and being able to get a win on senior night. In the second half it wasn't necessarily about what we were doing. It was about how we were doing it, our effort and our execution were both better," Tompkins said.

Keyes finished with a double-double pouring in a game high 19 points while grabbing 10 boards, adding a pair of steals and a block.

Fisk added 11 points, seven rebounds, a pair of steals and an assist. Stengel scored nine points, handed out four dimes and snared a pair of rebounds.

Baker notched five points and two caroms, Downton and Burke each contributed with four points. Downton also had five boards, four assists and a steal. R. Hobart collected eight rebounds and scored three points.

Dibble paced the Raiders offense scoring all 14 of his points in the first half, he also had eight rebounds, eight assists and five steals.

W. Hobart finished with 11 points, eight boards and a steal. Carpanetti tallied eight points and four rebounds. Kowalewski grabbed eight boards and scored four points, Motyka chipped in with three points and three rebounds.