HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Juniata College men's basketball built a large first half lead and let its reserves carry the Eagles the rest of the way as Juniata defeated Penn State Mont Alto, 71-55, in Friday's opening round of the Comfort Inn Doc Greene Invitational at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.
Juniata (7-2) advances to Saturday's 4:00 p.m. championship of the Doc Greene tourney, against Ithaca College (3-5). Ithaca dispatched New Jersey City University, 78-73, in Friday's early game.
New Jersey City (6-1) and Penn State Mont Alto (3-6) will meet in Saturday's consolation game, which tips off at 2:00 p.m.
Juniata used all 14 available players on its roster in getting past Penn State Mont Alto, led by Jeremy Hays' (McMechen, W.Va./John Marshall) 15 points and seven assists. Hays was one of four Eagles to tally double-figures on the night; he was joined by Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) and Alex Raymond (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Altoona Area) with 11 points each, and Dan Sekulski (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone Area) with 10.
Stapleton also hauled down a game-high seven rebounds, while Raymond recorded four steals.
The Eagles raced out to a 19-point halftime lead on the strength of their 48 percent (15-of-31) shooting effort from the field in the first 20 minutes. A 15-0 run lasting nearly six minutes left Juniata with a 28-10 lead at the 5:40 of the first half, with Stapleton logging seven points during the surge.
Juniata stretched its lead to as much as 26 points on a pair of Alex Mace (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) free throws at the 9:34 mark of the second half, but Penn State Mont Alto was able to reel in the Eagles a little to keep the final margin under 20 points. A Sedrick Washington layup and a traditional 3-point play by Kevin King in the final minute closed out the game for the Lions.
King led Mont Alto with 15 points, while Jeffrey Bowie notched 10 points for the Lions. Mont Alto shot just 33 percent (7-of-21) in the first half, but ramped that up to 44 percent (11-of-25) in the second stanza.
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