Eagles Edge Blue Jays

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa.- The Juniata men's basketball team earned a 62-59 victory at Elizabethtown town as the Blue Jay game-tying banked in three was taken after the buzzer to give the Eagles a crucial win on the road Wednesday evening. 

The Blue Jays raced out to a 9-2 run in the first minute and a half. The Eagles clawed their way back in the following few minutes. Mason Hardy (Gaithersburg, Md. / Our Lady of Good Counsel HS) made a jumper, Gabe Guidinger (York, Pa. / Central York HS) scored on a putback, stole the ball after an Etown timeout, and drilled a three off a pass from Hardy to give JC their first lead of the game at 13-11. The Blue Jays countered with an 8-0 spurt of their own to reclaim the lead. 

The Eagles slowly chipped away at the deficit, with a Chase Husted (DuBois, Pa. / DuBois Area HS) dunk off a slick pass from Nick Rigby (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon HS) tying things at 23-23. Evan Eisenhart (York, Pa. / Central York HS) intercepted a pass and took it the length of the floor before finishing with a crafty layup off the glass to give JC the lead again. The Juniata onslaught continued with a Rigby jumper off a Kyle Ruggery (Duncansville, PA / Bishop Guilfoyle HS) dime capping a 13-0 flurry that made it 36-23 with just under two to go in the half. 

A last-second Blue Jay triple cut into the lead as JC went into halftime up by nine, 37-28. 

Juniata appeared to be in control through the first part of the second half as they managed to lead by at least nine through the first 11 minutes. Elizabethtown turned up the pressure over the following five minutes and would edge ahead by one off a three-pointer, 57-56, with a little over four to play.  

Foul shots from Eisenhart and Husted made it 60-57, and neither team scored except from the foul line the rest of the way. The Blue Jays split two pairs of free throws to get within one with a minute left on the clock.  

A pair of Guidinger free throws made it 62-59  in the final 10 seconds, and JC took a timeout. Juniata played strong defense for the final 10 seconds, and the Blue Jays could not get a shot off until after the buzzer sounded. 

Juniata will take on Drew this Saturday at 2:00 and will also celebrate Senior Day.