Hedley's Game Winner (courtesy Eli Markle)
Different Angle of Buzzer Beater (courtesy Jim Barry '16)
SELINSGROVE, Pa. – With less than three seconds remaining in the game, sophomore guard Brandon Hedley (Silver Spring, Md. / Salisbury Prep) nailed a three-pointer at the top of the key as time expired, lifting Susquehanna men's basketball over rival Juniata 59-58 on Wednesday evening.
The Crusaders (15-9, 7-6 Landmark) trailed by two (58-56) in the waning seconds after a pair of free throws form Juniata. After a timeout called by SU, Hedley received a feed from senior center Harley Sellinger (Mill Hall, Pa. / Central Mountain) and sank the three at the buzzer, sending the crowd at O.W. Houts Gym into a frenzy.
The win over the Eagles (14-10, 5-8 Landmark) gives the Crusaders their first sweep of Juniata in the regular season since the 2010-11 season and puts SU into the Landmark Conference playoffs with seeding still to be determined.
Hedley finished the game with 10 points as his game-winner was just his second three of the contest. Sellinger led the Crusaders with a game-high 21 points, leaving him only six points shy of 1,000 for his career. The center also grabbed a contest-best 10 boards for his ninth double-double this season and 17th of his career.
Freshman Steven Weidlich (Watchung, N.J. / Watchung) pumped in 18 points, including five three-pointers. Against the Eagles this season, Weidlich and Hedley have made 17 three-pointers.
In a back-and-forth first half, the Eagles pulled away in the last minutes after a pair of shots from downtown, taking a 29-23 lead. A layup by Sellinger cut the deficit to four (29-25) but Juniata took a 31-26 lead into halftime.
The Crusaders claimed their first lead of the second half after a Tre Dean (Dallas, Texas / Greenhill School) layup to go ahead 37-35. A Weidlich three increased the advantage to 45-40 with less than 10 minutes left to play.
The Eagles reclaimed the lead 51-49 with five minutes to play but SU bounced right back and went ahead by three (56-53) after a pair of Sellinger free throws with 3:10 to go.
After Justin Fleming made two foul shots with four seconds left, head coach Frank Marcinek called a timeout and drew up the play which would result in the game-winning shot by Hedley.
SU wraps up regular season play on Saturday at Merchant Marine Academy at 2 p.m. The Crusaders defeated the Mariners 79-64 on Jan. 18.
