Eagles Defense Denies Royals in Commanding Home Victory
HUNTINGDON, Pa.- A strong defensive Eagles performance combined with a balanced offense led the Juniata men's basketball past the defending Landmark Conference Champions Scranton on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles forced 30 Royals turnovers against 14 of their own, while the Eagles allowed Scranton to go to the free-throw line just three times on a night where Scranton shot .381 from the field.
Chase Husted marked the afternoon with a new career high for points with 29. He also had seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and two steals.
Evan Eisenhart had two three-pointers while totaling 11 points with a pair of steals and three offensive rebounds. Kyle Ruggery led bench points with five, alongside three rebounds and two assists.
All five Juniata starters had at least two steals, while Gabe Guidinger led the way with three.
After a game-opening right-wing three from the Royals, Juniata took the lead on one play. Off a Guidinger steal, Eisenhart earned a layup and drew a foul. While he missed the free hit, a Husted rebound was dished out to an open Hardy on the right wing for three for an early 5-2 lead.
Back-to-back Husted layups built a 9-2 lead, although Scranton got back within one thanks to a three and a fast-break layup.
Scoring halted for around five minutes until a right-side Royals three put them ahead for the second time today at 11-9 halfway through the first. Their lead grew as big as 18-14 thanks to a left-wing three at 15-14.
Six straight Husted points, including two via Mason Hardy assists, got Juniata back ahead at 20-18. The sides traded buckets the next few possessions before Juniata busted the lead open on a step-back Ruggery three and a central Eisenhart three for a 30-20 lead.
Scranton tried to regain footing with a driving layup to get back within eight, while Hardy returned momentum to the Eagles with a buzzer-beater jumper for a ten-point break at the half.
After an opening Scranton three, Juniata posted the next six points, followed by yet another Scranton three-pointer to return the deficit to ten. Scranton continues to sneak threes in between layups and free throws from the Eagles.
Momentum shifted with eight minutes to go when Husted denied a driving layup on a block. The Eagles went on a ten-point run following this for a 57-36 lead, a gap they were able to hold to the end.
Husted secured his new career high with 1:30 to go, as Hardy split defenders at the top of the key to give Husted an open layup.
The win moves Juniata to 2-0 in the Landmark Conference early in the season.
Juniata returns to competition on Wednesday night as they host non-conference opponent Gwynedd Mercy at 7:00 pm.