Eagles Host Susquehanna In Mid-Week Conference Game
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Coming off a tough loss on the road to U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the Juniata College men’s basketball team will look to bounce back with a Landmark Conference matchup at home against Susquehanna University. The Eagles, 12-5 overall, are in a three-way tie for third place in the Landmark with the Crusaders and Drew University, each team is currently 3-3 in league play.
By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: JD Cavrich Photography
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Coming off a tough loss on the road to U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the Juniata College men's basketball team will look to bounce back with a Landmark Conference matchup at home against Susquehanna University. The Eagles, 12-5 overall, are in a three-way tie for third place in the Landmark with the Crusaders and Drew University, each team is currently 3-3 in league play.
"We need to get back to playing defense the way we can," said head coach Greg Curley. "The numbers point to us playing well, but the last four games we haven't defended the arc well. We haven't defended as well as I think we're capable of and we're a team that is built on that. We're going to try to get back to playing the way we can. We need to prove we can do that. We need to come out and play hard, play with some energy, play with some awareness, and intelligence."
Susquehanna is coming off at a 68-63 road win over Moravian College. The Crusaders have also notched league wins over Merchant Marine and Goucher College. Susquehanna suffered a dramatic 64-63 loss to Drew for the teams' only loss on the road this year. The men in orange have suffered league losses to Catholic University of America as well as an opening loss to The University of Scranton. Crusaders' sophomore Brandon Hedley tops the Landmark Conference, and is ranked fifth in the country, in three-point field goal attempts. He is also top of the conference in treys made and total field goals attempted, ranking in the top 25 nationally in both categories.
While Hedley ranks third in the Landmark in assists per game, Juniata senior Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W. Va./John Marshall) tops the league in the same category and is nationally ranked 17th. Hays is also atop the conference statistics in total assists (97) and steals per game (2.1). Senior Lucas Mellott (Warfordsburg, Pa./Southern Fulton) is leading the team in rebounds per game (7.1) and stands at fourth in the Landmark. The Juniata defense ranks first in the conference in both points allowed per game (66.2) and opponents field goal percentage (39.8). The Eagles 26.5 defensive rebounds per game has them at third in the league and they are second in the conference in field goal percentage at 46.7.
"We've gone through a little bit of a rough patch here and our focus is really just going to be on getting back to playing well," said Curley. "If we can do that we're going to be fine. Everything else will take care of itself. When we're aggressive, when we attack defensively, when we get out and control the game, when we get out in transition and when we're doing the things we need to the offensive stuff takes care of itself."
The series between the Eagles and Crusaders' is one of the oldest in Juniata men's basketball history. The two teams first met in the 1908-09 season and Susquehanna holds the all time series lead 95-78. Since the foundation of the Landmark Conference, the Crusaders hold the league series lead 8-6; however, on the two occasions that the teams have met in the post season, the Eagles have taken both contests. Juniata is also currently riding a three-game win-streak against the men in orange and the teams are tied at 3-3 when the games occur in Huntingdon.
"It's been so long since we've played a true home game," said Curley. "This has been a real challenge for our guys. Some of our guys have been on break for six weeks. We have the longest break in the Landmark and we've basically played our whole season in front of nobody. I would like to think playing at home would give us some energy. What we need to do is stay focused on what we're doing. We can play with emotion, but we can't be emotional – we can't be up and down. We need to go out and enjoy the opportunity and have fun playing together."
Tip off for the game is set for 7 p.m. in Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.
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