Eagles Fly By Patriots, 94-48, In Holiday Tournament Opener

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

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The high-powered offense of the Juniata College men's basketball team was no match for Valley Forge Christian College (VFC) as the Eagles cruised passed the Patriots, 94-48, in the opening game of the annual Holiday Tournament. Five different Eagles finished with double-digit points and Juniata pulled down 40 rebounds as a team. The Eagles held VFC to a season-low 48 points while scoring a season-high 94.

"In general, I thought we did a nice job with their high pressure," said head coach Greg Curley. "It's hard to get into pressure if you play good defense and I thought our defensive effort really carried us. We were able to get out on transition and get some easier baskets. Our bench had one of their better nights. They've got to show that they can continue to do that and get better."

In the opening five minutes the Eagles opened up an early four point lead 8-4. The Patriots came back quickly with a pair of made free throws and converted a steel for two to tie the game. Juniata responded immediately with a three from senior Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) followed by a solid defensive stop. Stapleton finished out the night with 12 points and four rebounds and helped Juniata shoot over 83% from the foul line.

The high-speed transition game played right into Juniata's hands and gave the Eagles a five-point lead at 20-15 with 10:30 to play in the first half. With 4:10 on the clock, senior Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College) nailed a trey on a dish from inside by Stapleton for the 11-point Eagle lead and followed up with another three to put Juniata up 36-23.

 "We did a good job of limiting their transition opportunities," said Curley. "Early on, they got a few of them, but we adjusted quickly and didn't give them any others. We did a pretty good job of handling the dribble penetration. We did a nice job as a team helping each other keep the ball out of the lane. They've got guys that can get in the lane, so that was good. In the past we haven't done a great job with that, but we did well tonight and hopefully we can build off of that."

At the half, Juniata had forced the Patriots to give up their high-pressure defense and high-speed-transition offense and took a 45-23 lead into the break. Senior Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W. Va./John Marshall) lead Juniata in the first half with 13 points and Scholly tacked on another nine plus five rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

The Eagles continued their first half momentum going on a 7-2 run in the first three minutes. After a steal from sophomore Kyle Koehler (Chester Springs, Pa./Devon Prep.), Juniata worked the ball up the court with a series of quick passes that found senior Lucas Mellott (Warfordsburg, Pa./Southern Fulton) in the paint for the easy layup and the 63-31 lead.

"We're getting back to our old self," said Curley. "The last couple of years we've spread the points around. To see some guys step up and be a little more aggressive and a little more confident, really go after it, was good. That's the way we need to play."

At the 10-minute mark, the Eagles passed their way out of deep court pressure and senior Pat Cassidy (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) made a nice move to dish the ball off to freshman Dennis Fisher (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle Area) who nailed the layup to increase Juniata's lead to 73-35.

With just over five minutes remaining, Juniata held a 33-point lead and closed out the game on a 17-2 run. Freshman Michael Thomas (Wheeling, W. Va./Wheeling Park) and Jacob Close (Somerset, Pa./Sherwood) made back-to-back buckets for Juniata and senior Kevin Snyder (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) tacked on a layup for the 94-48 victory.

The Eagles will face off against Case Western Reserve University in the Holiday Tournament Championship game tomorrow at 4 p.m. in Memorial Gym. The Spartans defeated Johns Hopkins University, 81-77, to advance to the final match.

 "Today was more about speed and pressure and tomorrow is going to be more about size and execution," said Curley. "We'll concentrate on our fundamentals, rely on our practice habits, and what we have done and just go play. In a lot of ways, tomorrow is the kind of game we want to play. It'll be the kind of team we'll have to compete with if we want to go where we want to go as a program."

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