Eagles Knock off Washington College, 68-59, For First Win

CRESSON, PA- Juniata led by as much as 12 points in the second half as the Eagles men's basketball team defeated Washington College 68-59 at the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament held at Mount Aloysius College. Juniata evens its record at 1-1 while the Shoremen fall to 0-2.

The two teams were tied at halftime 33-33. A 15-4 Eagle run in the first 10 minutes of the second period spurred JC to the win as it outscored the Shoremen 35-26.

Justin Fleming (Doswell, VA/Benedictine College Prep) led the way for Juniata with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Fellow Eagle Kyle Koehler (Chester Springs, PA/Devon Prepatory) added 12 points and pulled down six rebounds. Seth Brewer (Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township) chipped in 10 points and came away with three steals.

The Shoremen scored the game's first points when Pat Morgan hit a three-pointer but a quick 8-0 Eagle run with Koehler providing five of those points staked Juniata out to a 7-3 lead at 17:22. Washington came back to tie it up and then went ahead on a three-point shot by Sean Brooks at the 13:35 mark.

Washington led by as much was five points, 18-13, at 9:40 but another 8-0 run by Juniata gave JC the lead, 21-18, at 7:26. The Eagles' advantage grew to five points at 27-22 with 5:23 left in the half but the Shoremen forced two ties with Juniata tying it up once at the end of the period.

The second half saw the Eagles go on their biggest run of the game and lead 48-37 with 9:54 remaining to play. JC went up by 12 with 7:51 showing on the clock but Washington would cut the deficit in half to make it a 52-46 game at 6:06. The Shoremen got to within two points of tying the contest up with 1:17 to play but the Eagles shot 10-of-12 from the free throw line in the final 68 seconds to take the victory.

Juniata shot 52.3% from the floor to just 33.3% for Washington. Both teams struggled from beyond the three-point arc as JC hit on just 25% of its shots to 28.1% for the Shoremen. The Eagles were 19-of-22 (86.4%) from the foul line to Washington's 12-of-15 (80%). Juniata dominated in the paint, 32-18.

The Eagles will host their first game of the season when they welcome Allegheny College on Wednesday night. Game time from Memorial Gym will be at 7 p.m.