Late Lead Slips Away as Eagles Fall to Bulldogs in ECAC South Tournament

CENTER VALLEY, Pa.- The Juniata and DeSales men's basketball teams met in the opening round of the ECAC South Tournament on Wednesday night at the Bulldogs' Billera Hall. Juniata had an eight point lead late in the second half but host DeSales went on a 14-0 run to go ahead and went on to defeat the Eagles by the score of 72-66.

Kyle Koehler's (Chester Springs, Pa./Devon Prep) three-point shot with 4:36 left to play gave the Eagles a 61-53 lead. A 14-0 DeSales run that covered over three and a half minutes of game team gave the home team a 67-61 advantage with 33 seconds to play. Brandon Martinazzi's (Cresson, Pa/Bishop Carroll) layup with 13 ticks left on the clock pulled the Eagles to within two points, 68-66, but the Bulldogs would convert four free throws in the final nine seconds to pull out the win.

Juniata started the game on a 9-0 run just over five minutes into the contest. DeSales was able to cut the JC lead down to three points, 13-10, at 12:08. After a layup from Marcus Lee (Carrolltown, Pa./Bishop Carroll) increased the Eagle lead to 15-10, back-to-back three point shots from the Bulldogs' Cody Ross gave DeSales its first lead of the game at 16-15 with 10:53 remaining in the half.

Three-pointers from Damon Rickens (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) and Nate Ogle (Falls Church, Va./George Mason) staked the Eagles up to a 21-16 advantage with 9:29 showing on the game clock. After DeSales responded with a trey from Jacob Battle, JC then went on an 8-0 run to go ahead 29-19 at 5:55. The Juniata lead was still 10 points, 36-26, with 54 seconds remaining in the half but Connor Jones scored a three-point basket for the Bulldogs with four seconds left as the Eagles went into halftime up 36-29.

DeSales was able to claw away at its deficit in the second half. The Bulldogs got to within two points at 48-46 with 10:05 remaining to play. A 13-7 run by the Eagles put JC ahead 61-53. DeSales then went on its game-changing run to erase the Juniata lead. Koehler's three with 23 seconds remaining got the Eagles to within three points, 67-64. DeSales' Ryan Callahan would be fouled by Koehler and go to the free throw line. Callahan made one of his two attempts to make it 68-64 in DeSales' favor. Martinnazzi's layup made it a one-possession game but Juniata could not get any closer as the Bulldogs made their free throws to hold off the JC comeback.

Juniata had four players reach double figures on the night. Lee and Justin Fleming (Richmond, Va./Benedictine College Prep) both had 12 points to pace the Eagles with Lee also grabbing a team-high nine rebounds to fall short of a double-double. Fleming picked up three steals and five assists. Koehler added 11 points as did Rickens.

The Eagles enjoyed a 34-30 advantage in rebounds. The team forced 17 Bulldogs turnovers and would score 25 points off of those miscues. JC also had a slight advantage in the paint with a 28-24 edge.

Juniata finishes the season with a final record of 16-11. The game marked the final contest for seniors Fleming, Koehler, and Ogle. Ogle finished with six points, four steals, four rebounds, and two assists.