Eagles To Open Home Season Against Pitt-Bradford, Saturday 2 p.m.

By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Juniata College men's basketball team will open the home 2013-14 season this Saturday, Nov. 23, at 2 p.m. against the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. The Eagles are coming off a dramatic 68-66 win over Dickinson last Wednesday and are 2-1 overall on the year.

"I'm sure the guys are excited about playing at home," said head coach Greg Curley. "[Pitt-Bradford] is very good. They're very good in transition and very strong and physical. They're also very balanced. They threaten you at all different points. They're good on the perimeter. They have three guys that can attack and drive and create their own offense and their interior guys are just strong guys. They're not the tallest guys in the world, but they're big and strong and difficult to match up with. They're physical and it's going to be a good challenge for us."

Juniata had as large as an eight point lead in the second half against Dickinson last Wednesday, a team and made the NCAA tournament in the 2012-13 season. Despite only winning by two, the Eagles never surrendered the lead they took with the last bucket of the first half against the Red Devils.

"I think what Wednesday did was show us we can beat Dickinson when we're ready and prepared," said Curley. "I think it gave us some confidence that at some point in the season we have a chance to be a good team because we can play with a team of that level. I think at this stage what it's about is, can we consistently do what we need to do? We're still at the stage where we're seeing all different styles and to be a good team you have to be able to hold up against that. Bradford's style is different than Dickinson's."

The Panthers are also 2-1 this season, with wins over Misericordia University and Westminster College.  In the first ever meeting between Juniata and Pitt-Bradford, last season, the Panthers walked away with the 80-77 double-overtime win at home.

"The key to being good is to stay consistent with what you do," said Curley. "When we've been good the last few years, teams have adjusted to our style, we didn't adjust to theirs. One of our keys will be to dictate the game. We have to control the game and it has to be our style, our play, and our game. We run a lot, but we want to make sure we're running because we're running and not because they're controlling the game and we're reacting to them."

The Eagles are averaging 70.7 points per game from a 48.2 shooting percentage and are sinking five shots per game from behind the arc. On the defensive side of the ball, Juniata is pulling down 28 rebounds a game and is averaging a per game rebound margin of 4.3.

"We're a team that prides itself on defense and rebounding and being tough and I think [Pitt-Bradford] is the toughest, most physical, best rebounding team that we've faced," said Curley. "I think it's going to be a challenge for us to see, can we dictate the game? Can we control what's going on? Can we execute for 40 minutes and come away with a win?"

The Eagles boasted an impressive 13-1 home record last year with the lone loss happening at the hands of The University of Scranton mid way through the season.

"Right now we need to find out if we can go in and execute our stuff," said Curley. "We need to stick to what we do. We need to stay disciplined and do the things we need to do despite the pressure [Pitt-Bradford] is going to put on us with their physicality, their strength, their athleticism, and how they are going to try to play."

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