#19 Carnegie Mellon upends Juniata men’s hoops

PITTSBURGH -  A 13-2 run by Carnegie Mellon University to open the second half helped propel the 19th-ranked Tartans to a 75-56 win over Juniata College, in men's basketball action Wednesday night at Skibo Gymnasium in Pittsburgh. 

The Eagles (1-5) were led by junior guard Jeff Berkey (Stoystown, Pa./Shanksville-Stonycreek) with 18 points and five rebounds. He was 4-of-10 from three-point range. Ryan Jones (Coudersport, Pa./Coudersport) tacked on 13 points, and Eric Mueseler (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) chipped in with 10 points to go with a team-high seven boards. 

Juniata trailed 37-29 at the half, but did not make its first bucket of the second stanza until the 14:12 mark on David Thompson's (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) layup. That cut what had been a 19-point Carnegie Mellon advantage down to 50-33, and a Berkey three-pointer barely 45 seconds later trimmed the margin to 14 points at 50-36 with 13:27 showing. 

However the Eagles struggled to get closer than 14 points to catching the Tartans. Juniata briefly pulled to within 13 points of CMU following John Martinez's (Mount Union, Pa./Mount Union) layup with 4:11 remaining, but a Tartan free throw and trey by Carnegie Mellon's Ryan Einwag quickly stretched the lead back to 17 points. 

The Tartans (5-0) had three players score in double-figures, led by Jack Anderson with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Einwag finished with 16 points, while Shane Rife added 15 points. 

Juniata will open Landmark Conference play in its next outing, a clash with Susquehanna University on Saturday, Dec. 6, in Selinsgrove, Pa. 

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