#18 Susquehanna Escapes With 74-71 Win Over Juniata

HUNTINGDON, Pa.- A three-point play by visiting Susquehanna put the Crusaders ahead by three points with just over six seconds left to play as SU held on to a 74-71 win over Juniata on Wednesday night at Memorial Gymnasium. Justin Fleming's (Richmond, Va./Benedictine College Prep) potential game-tying three-point shot at the buzzer hit off the rim in the waning seconds.

The Eagles (14-7, 7-5) led for all of the last 42 seconds of the second half. The score was tied twice in the first few minutes but Juniata quickly went ahead 46-39 at the 15:53 mark. The lead was still seven points at 15:03 before the Crusaders got to within one point of tying the contest up.

Juniata kept its distance from Susquehanna throughout the rest of the frame and answered each shot. The Eagles' lead stood at 70-64 with 3:10 remaining following a layup from Kyle Koehler (Chester Springs, Pa./Devon Prep). A layup from Susquehanna's Steven Weidlich followed by a trey from Brandon Hedley got the Cruaders to 70-69 with just over two minutes to play and SU took a one-point lead on a layup by Dan Weiss with 42 ticks showing on the game clock.

JC drove down the court and Dennis Fisher (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle Area) would be fouled under the basket with 24 seconds to play. Fisher made the first of two attempts to tie the game at 71-all. On Susquehanna's next possession, Weidlich drove in the paint and made a difficult layup while he was fouled by Koehler. Weidlich made the ensuing free throw for the clinching points.

It was Susquehanna who had  the early lead to start the game but a 15-2 run by the Eagles, with all five shots coming via the three-pointer, put the Blue and Gold ahead 19-10 with 11:56 on the clock. The Crusaders were able to reduce their deficit to as little as three points, 24-21, with 8:07 remaining in the half. A 10-6 Eagle run put Juniata up 34-27 with 3:10 to play and JC led 35-29 at the half.

For the game, the Eagles shot 26-of-54 (48.1%) from the field and had their second-best performance from beyond the three-point arc as they were good on 12-of-21 (57.1%) of their attempts. Susquehanna was 27-of-54 (50%) from the floor but only 6-of-21 (28.6%) in three-point shots. SU also had the advantage from the charity stripe 82.4%-70%.

Brandon Martinazzi (Cresson, Pa./Bishop Carroll) led the Eagles with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and was 4-of-6 in three-point attempts. Koehler added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and was 4-of-5 from downtown. Marcus Lee (Carrolltown, Pa./Bishop Carroll) was the only starter to reach double figures as he also scored 14 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

Martinazzi and Koehler led a Juniata bench that outscored Susquehanna 33-9. The Crusaders did lead in points in the paint 38-22. JC had the rebounding advantage 30-28.

Juniata goes on the road Saturday for a big Landmark matchup with Scranton. Game time will be at 1 p.m.