Eagles Edge Blue Jays in Overtime
HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata men's basketball team won in thrilling fashion in overtime against visiting Elizabethtown College, 86-82, Wednesday evening inside Memorial Gymnasium.
The opening three minutes were scoreless before the Blue Jays broke the seal with a free throw. Elizabethtown scored inside twice on back-to-back layups to increase the deficit to five. Gabe Guidinger swished a three from near the top of the key off a Mason Hardy pass to open the scoring for the Eagles six minutes in.
Michael Montecalvo found Kade Anzulavich on the left wing for another three, bringing JC back within one 7-6.
The Eagles would lead by as many as seven and went into the half up by four, 35-31.
The second half was a back-and-forth affair as the teams traded the lead multiple times, and with just under two minutes to go, the Blue Jays surged ahead by five, 69-64.
Hardy scored on a short floater in the paint, and the Eagles called timeout. The Eagles came out in a zone that flummoxed the Blue Jays into a turnover. On the other end, Chase Husted rebounded an errant shot and flipped it to Evan Eisenhart on the right wing, who drilled a three to tie the game.
On the final possession of regulation, the Blue Jay ballhandler tried to drive from the left wing to the right side of the paint. Eisenhart and Husted hung with him to wall him off, forced an errant shot, and it was off to overtime.
Guidinger started OT with a three; the Blue Jays nailed a three from the left corner, and Guidinger blew past his defender on the right wing and finished at the rim, but the Blue Jays converted another three from the left corner as Juniata trailed by one, 75-74. Eisenhart swished a deep three from the left wing with a hand in his face to give the lead back to JC.
Elizabethtown answered with a three from the top of the key, and the Eagles called timeout. Following the break, Hardy drove, stopped at the left elbow, and found Guidinger alone in the left corner. His three-pointer gave the Eagles the lead for good, as after a missed Etown jumper, Hardy ran some clock, drove into the paint, and swished a short pull-up jumper to push the lead to four with just under 30 seconds to go in OT.
The Blue Jays scored inside on a layup, Eisenhart made both his foul shots, and Elizabethtown ran down and scored on another layup, making it 84-82 with eight seconds showing on the clock.
Guidinger was fouled, made both his foul shots, and the Blue Jays missed a three to seal the game.
Juniata returns to action this Saturday at home against Wilkes. Tipoff is at 2:00.