Strong Defense Late Leads Eagles Past Cougars
HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata men's basketball team kicked off their first home contest of the year with a 78-67 win over visiting Chatham Saturday afternoon inside Memorial Gymnasium.
Gabe Guidinger came out strong to start for JC as he tallied seven of the first 11 points for the Eagles with a triple from the right corner off a Tyler Lapetina pass and two layups off assists from Chase Husted. A strong Husted drive from the left wing saw him finish through a lot of contact to make it 13-6 in the first few minutes.
The Cougars hung around, and the Eagles continued to find success through a balanced attack as Nick Rigby drove from the top of the key before floating the ball over the defender and in. Kyle Ruggery followed with a blow by of his own, this one from the left wing, before he finished easily with his left hand to make it 21-17 JC. A few possessions later, Michael Montecalvo drilled a three while being fouled, and the Eagles would eventually push their lead to as many as nine at 29-20.
The visitors, on the back of some strong three-point shooting, closed the half on a 17-6 run as two late threes' put them ahead at the half, 37-35.
The second half opened with a Guidinger jumper and Hardy stealing the ball on back-to-back possessions, with the first ending with a Husted bucket on the other end.
Husted scored on consecutive possessions to keep pace with the Cougars, and Ross Conway splashed a three off a Hardy pass to make it 46-43 Juniata. Two straight Rigby layups inside and a Husted and-one made it 53-45 after the foul shot.
Evan Eisenhart's three from the right wing with 12 minutes to go in the contest made it 56-47, and the Cougars called timeout.
Chatham clawed their way back into the game again with a layup and a three cutting the JC lead to one at 64-63 with six and half minutes remaining.
The Juniata defense suffocated the Cougar offense the rest of the way, not allowing a bucket for six minutes. Chatham finally scored when Juniata was guarding to prevent threes as they led 73-63 in the final minute.
Husted led the way with a double-double as he totaled a career-high 22 points, ten rebounds, and four assists. Guidinger tallied a career-high 18 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a block. Ruggery added nine points, three rebounds, an assist, and a steal off the bench, while Rigby provided eight points, five rebounds, and two assists. Hardy was a menace defensively, as he had a career-high six steals to go with five points, three rebounds, and three assists.
Juniata had a massive advantage in points in the paint, 42-18, and controlled the glass, 41-31.
Juniata will begin conference play next Saturday when they host Drew at 4:00.