SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Juniata College junior guard Alex Raymond (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Altoona Area) logged 23 points, 19 of them in the second half, to lead the Eagles to a 77-58 win over Susquehanna University, in Wednesday night's Landmark Conference Men's Basketball Tournament semifinal at O.W. Houts Gymnasium.
Juniata improved to 18-8 with the victory, the most wins in a single season in program history. The "w" also sends the Eagles into Saturday's Landmark Conference championship game against the University of Scranton, who defeated Moravian College 82-70 in Wednesday's other Landmark semifinal matchup.
Raymond was one of five Eagles to score in double figures in a come-from-behind win.
Dan Sekulski (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone Area) netted 12 points, while Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) finished with 11. Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College Area) and Nate Higgins (St. Mary's, Pa./Elk County Catholic) charted 10 points each.
Juniata came out on top thanks to a solid second half shooting performance, while the Eagles' defensive pressure began to wear down Susquehanna's outside shooters.
Susquehanna took a 34-32 lead into the locker room at halftime, after raining a three-point barrage on the Eagles in the opening 20 minutes. The Crusaders were 7-of-13 from beyond the arc in the first half alone, with Spenser Spencer connecting on four of the those.
The Crusaders held a 10-point lead at the 12:04 mark of the first half, but Susquehanna's shooting went cold as Juniata finally started to get its range. The Eagles tied the game at 21-21 with 8:56 showing on the first half clock following a Higgins jumper, but the Crusaders answered with Brendan Rezny bucket and held at least a one-possession lead the rest of the frame.
Juniata opened the second half with a 6-0 run on buckets by Raymond, Sekulski, and Scholly, and held onto that advantage the rest of the way.
What turned out to be the Crusaders' last attempt at catching Juniata came on J.T. Wilson's free throw and three-pointer off an offensive rebound of a missed second foul shot. That sequence pulled Susquehanna to within one point of the Eagles, 45-44, with 13:01 remaining in the frame.
The Eagles responded with 12 unanswered points over the next four minutes, with the run resulting in a 57-44 Juniata lead with 9:18 showing on the clock. Scholly and Raymond each hit 3-pointers during the run, part of Juniata's 5-of-16 effort from beyond the arc.
Juniata held Susquehanna to 2-of-7 shooting from the field over the final five minutes, with a pair of Mike Perillo treys providing the Crusaders' only offense, and 33 percent over the entire second half. For their part, the Eagles shot 56 percent in the second stanza, and finished the game shooting 50 percent (27-of-54) from the field.
Wilson finished with a team-high 17 points for Susquehanna, while Spencer tallied 16 points – only two of which came in the second half. Harley Sellinger netted 10 points for the Crusaders, and Perillo dished out 11 assists.
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