Second Half Comeback Spurs Men’s Basketball to 71-55 Win over Allegheny

HUNTINGDON, PA- The Juniata men's basketball team trailed early in the second half but went on a 12-0 run to pull away and defeat Allegheny 71-55 on Wednesday night at Memorial Gymnasium. The Eagles improve to 2-1 overall while the Gators suffer their first loss and are also 2-1.

The Eagles were down 48-44 with 10:54 remaining in the second half. The 12-0 run covered over six minutes of game time and the Juniata defense forced five missed shots from the Gators.

Justin Fleming (Richmond, VA/Benedictine College Prep) led the way for Juniata with 21 points on 5-of-6 shooting. He was also 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Marcus Lee (Carrolltown, PA/Bishop Carroll) and Nate Ogle (Falls Church, VA/Geroge Mason) both totaled 12 points. Kyle Koehler (Chester Springs, PA/Devon Prep) scored 11 points and had three steals.

The Eagles came out strong in the early stages of the first half as they hit all six of their shots to lead 14-11 at the 15:15 mark. The Gators would come back to take away the lead and go up by four, 18-14. Juniata did regain the lead only to have Allegheny wrestle it back. The Gators would go into halftime with a 32-30 advantage.

Allegheny increased its lead to 44-37 at 13:45 of the second half. The advantage grew to eight points just inside of 11 minutes left to play when the Eagles embarked on their game-turning run.

Overall the Eagles shot 51.2% (21-of-41) from the floor to Allegheny's 43.5% (20-of-46).  Juniata dominated in three-point shots made as it converted 57.1% (4-of-7) of its attempts to just 23.8% (5-of-21) for the Gators.

The lead changed hands 11 times and the score was tied five times. JC led for almost 28 and a half minutes compared to Allegheny's nine and a half minutes.

Juniata will look to make it two in a row on Saturday when it goes on the road to take on Pitt-Bradford. Game time will be at 2 p.m.