Eagles Fall at the Buzzer at Susquehanna
SELINSGROVE, Pa.- The Juniata men's basketball team lost a heartbreaker at the buzzer on the road at Susquehanna University, 68-66, Wednesday evening inside O.W. Houts Gymnasium.
Joe Bruce led the way with 19 points, three steals, and an assist, while Ty Kocak totaled nine points, six rebounds, and three steals. Ayden Hurley added eight points, three rebounds, and two assists, while William Littles Jr. added eight points, three steals, and an assist off the bench.
Bruce led the Eagles to a strong start as he scored seven points, and Malcolm Griffith added an and-one as Juniata led 10-2 early on. The River Hawks clawed their way back into the game, and a three-pointer gave them a 20-19 lead with 10 to go in the half. A Kocak pull-up jumper at the elbow gave JC the lead back. SU retook the lead in the final minutes of the half, and closed on a 12-2 run over the final four and a half minutes.
The Eagles did an excellent job turning River Hawk turnovers into points, scoring 22 points off turnovers in the first half.
Juniata kept chipping away at the deficit, and with 10 minutes to go, Tre Yawn found Hurley for a three to tie things at 43.
Neither team would lead by more than five the rest of the way, as the teams traded buckets down the stretch. Kocak drew a foul and made two foul shots to put the Eagles up 64-63 with a minute to play. SU split a pair of foul shots, Juniata missed at the other end, and SU drew another foul. They made both, and Juniata went down the court trailing 66-64 with 20 seconds to go.
Noah Bailey was fouled under the hoop, calmly stepped to the line, and drilled both foul shots. Susquehanna went down the other way and tried to find something, but the Eagles mucked up their action. River Hawk Brandon Lavitt got the ball on the left wing, and with the clock ticking down, rose and fired a jumper that swished through the net as time expired.
SU had an advantage in rebounds, 38-29, while Juniata had an advantage in steals, 13-7.
Juniata returns home to host Drew University on Saturday at 2:00.