Juniata men's basketball swept two Landmark Conference opponents this weekend

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College men's basketball topped off a solid weekend of Landmark Conference action with its second win in two nights in an 86-59 victory over the University of Scranton, Saturday night at Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.

The Royals came out of the gate with the first basket, and caught their one and only lead of the game by three points five minutes into the contest. Nate Higgins (St. Mary's, Pa./Elk County Catholic) grabbed Juniata's first lead with a jumper at 14:16 to get up 7-5.

Juniata (12-12, 5-8 Landmark) maintained a small lead in the first ten minutes of the game. With 7:41 on the clock Scranton (17-5, 10-3 Landmark) came within one point from the Eagles, 21-20, yet Juniata went on an eight-point run to truly pull away for the first time. Freshman guard Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W.Va./John Marshall) sank a trey, Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College Area) finished a three-pointer and a layup, and Bruce Knowles (Duncannon, Pa./Susquenita) finished a layup.

Juniata was up 43-30 at the sound of the first half buzzer.

In the second half, Juniata gained its largest lead by 24 points with 1:19 left on the clock.

A total of four players scored in the double digits for Juniata. Scholly lead the Eagles with 21 points off 5-of-7 shooting from behind the arc. Hays totaled 18 points for the evening, making 2-of-3 three-pointers and 4-of-5 free throws. Knowles added 16 points to the mix with five rebounds, and Austin Ankney (Somerset, Pa./Somerset) grabbed 13 points with five rebounds.

The Eagles outshot the Royals 52 percent compared to 39 percent from the floor, 50 percent to 25 percent from three-point range, and 81.3 percent to 55.2 percent from the free throw line.

Scranton's Luke Hawk led the Eagles in total points with 19, off of 7-for-9 from the floor. Matt Swaback led the Eagles in rebounds with eight for the night.

Juniata returns to action on Feb. 19, when the Eagles host "senior day" versus Susquehanna University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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