By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: JD Cavrich Photography
TOWSON, Md. – It came down to the wire, but the Juniata College men's basketball team held on for the 60-57 Landmark Conference win on the road against Goucher College. The Eagles improved to 12-4 overall and picked up their third league victory and first in three games. Senior Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College) finished the night with a team-high 17 points, sinking five of his six baskets from behind the arc.
"We talked about our guys playing the game with our style," said head coach Greg Curley. "We went back to playing the way we know how to play – sharing the ball and moving the ball. I thought we got away from that over the last few games. We just needed to come out and be us, which is a team where it's not always pretty, but we defend and play together as hard as we can. We didn't get ahead of ourselves and tried to play with a little humility and toughness and I thought we did a pretty good job of that tonight."
The Eagles opened up an early lead in the first half, 11-3, forcing a Goucher timeout after just four minutes of action. Senior Dimitri Ross (Petersburg, Va./Appomattox Regional Governor's School) put in a layup followed by a steal and a fast break conversion by senior Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W. Va./John Marshall) for the 12-point Juniata lead with 14:30 to play in the half. Ross tacked on a team third-best eight points for the night and Hays added a team second-best 16-points from a 4-7 shooting performance while going 6-8 from the free throw line.
"At some point we have to get a little better at extending things and getting away from people," added Curley. "It's hard on the road. Winning on the road is tough. Goucher is one of the more talented offensive teams that we've played against and we had trouble with them when they didn't have as many weapons. I thought we kept playing hard and made the big plays when we needed to."
With just under 11 minutes to play in the half, the two teams exchanged a series of fast breaks, but the Eagles came out on top, winning the battle of the boards 21-15 in the first half. The Gophers went on a 10-0 run, pulling back to within two at 17-15, before Juniata was able to halt the come back with a jumper from the top of the key by Ross.
"Our seniors, out big three guys really stepped up, and I thought Dimitri Ross' play off the bench was really the difference in that game," said Curley. "That's really what we've been looking for and it's great to get him back in rhythm. He joined us after break and it's good to see him getting out there and doing the things that we think he can do."
Goucher took its first lead of the half on a three pointer inside of two minutes to play in the half, but the Eagles responded in kind with two treys for Hays and an inside layup from sophomore Justin Fleming (Dowell, Va./ Benedictine College Prep.) sandwiched in between to carry the 27-22 lead into halftime.
Out of the break senior Pat Cassidy (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) pulled down a number of strong rebounds to both get the Eagles the ball and maintain possession on offense. Juniata was able to build back some of its first half lead, leading the Gopher by five, 30-25, after three minutes. Scholly drained back-to-back threes at the 14 minute-mark for the eight-point Eagle lead, 36-28.
Goucher was once again able to scrap its way back into the game, pulling to within one of Juniata at 38-37, before Ross put in another all-important jump shot from the top of the key to help curb the Gophers momentum. With five minutes left to play, Scholly nailed his fifth trey of the night to move the Eagles lead back up to eight at 52-44. Juniata followed up the trey with a steal from sophomore Kyle Koehler (Chester Springs, Pa./Devon Prep.) who had a very strong defensive night for the Eagles with six rebounds and two steals and went 4-4 from the extra point line. On the night, Juniata shot almost 69% from the free-throw line and dominated the rebounds 40-28.
"We're not the biggest team so we've really talked about a game mentality where everyone has to get involved," said Curley. "We held them to one offensive rebound, which is really saying something. I was really pleased with that and as far as the stat sheet goes that's really what gave us the chance to win the game."
The Gophers came to within two of the Eagles at 55-53 with less than 90-seconds remaining. Senior Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) put in a crucial jump shot and Goucher continued its strong foul shooting to keep it a two-point contest at 57-55 with 19 seconds on the clock. Stapleton finished the night with two of Juniata's seven steals and dealt in eight points to the Eagles offensive effort. Hays nailed a foul shot with 1.2 second on the clock and the Eagles hung on for the 60-57 win.
Juniata stays on the road this weekend for a bout with U.S. Merchant Marine Academy before returning home next Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. to face Susquehanna University.
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