Juniata men’s basketball holds off late Goucher rally in 67-56 win

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Juniata College's 80 percent shooting performance at the free-throw line lifted the Eagles to a 67-56 win over Goucher College, in Landmark Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center. 

Juniata (9-5, 2-1 Landmark) was 21-of-26 at the line, including a 13-of-16 mark in the second half alone. Goucher went to the free-throw line nine times over the entire game, converting eight of those opportunities. 

Free-throw shooting proved to be the difference-maker in a game in which each team was 21-of-49 (.429) from the field for the game. 

Senior Bruce Knowles (Duncannon, Pa./Susquenita) led the Eagles with 14 points off the bench, while junior Dan Sekulski paced the starters with 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field with a 5-of-6 mark at the charity stripe. Austin Ankney (Somerset, Pa./Somerset) tallied 12 points while freshman Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College Area) logged 11 points with nine boards. 

Juniata's 8-0 run late in the first half ended with a Knowles layup with 3:21 left in the frame, putting the Eagles in front 28-17. Goucher briefly cut Juniata's lead back to single digits with a jumper by Emmanuel Wood, but a three-pointer by Alex Raymond (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Altoona) that became a four-point play on a Wood foul and ensuing free throw lifted Juniata to a 32-19 lead. 

Jeremy Hays' (McMechen, W.Va./John Marshall) layup with 1:11 showing on the first half clock capped the scoring, and Juniata went into the locker room at the intermission with a 34-19 lead. The Eagles outscored the Gophers 20-6 over the final 10 minutes of the first half. 

Goucher (2-8, 0-3 Landmark) tried to rally in the second half, pulling to within 11 points of Juniata on five occasions with the Eagles responding on each occasion. The Gophers finally cut the Eagle lead down to single digits, 64-56, on Marcus Cotton's jumper and foul shot with 2:16 remaining. Sekulski was 3-for-4 at the line over the final minute-and-a-half, helping preserve the Juniata win. 

Lindsay led Goucher with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting and a 3-of-3 effort at the stripe. Colby Giacubeno finished with 15 points. 

Juniata is on the road for a pair of Landmark games next weekend, starting with a contest at the University of Scranton on Friday, Jan. 14, at 5:30 p.m. 

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