By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
BETHANY, W. Va. – All night long the net swished as the No. 4 seed Juniata College men's basketball team nailed three after three to take down No. 2 seed Hood College, 82-67, and claim the 2014 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Southwest Tournament championship. Senior Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College) led the Eagles with 24 points, going 6-for-12 from behind the arc, and was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his performances throughout the tournament.
"This is great and it speaks to the leadership we have and the heart of the kids and how hard they work," said head coach Greg Curley. "We've had an awful lot of tough breaks this year, but to over come the way they have and to keep fighting speaks so much to those guys. I couldn't be prouder."
The Eagles opened in classic fashion with a steal by senior Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W. Va./John Marshal) and back-to-back-back treys by Scholly for the early 9-4 lead. Hays finished with a game-high eight assists to add to his program all-time record in assists. With 15 minutes on the clock, Juniata worked the ball around the arc and inside before finding first year Nate Ogle (Falls Church, Va./George Mason) for the rap around layup and the 13-6 lead.
With the Blazers making a come back, sophomore Justin Fleming (Doswell, Va./Benedictine College Prep.) nailed a three on a pass outside from Ogle followed by a trey from Ogle off the Fleming assist to stretch the lead to nine at 19-10 with just over 11 minutes to play. The Eagles sunk 17 threes on the night, one shy of the program single game record set in 1990. Senior Dimitri Ross (Petersburg, Va./Appomattox Regional Governor's School) brought the Juniata fans to their feet with back-to-back threes for the 28-13 Eagle lead with just over eight minutes to play. Ross was 4-for-5 from behind the arc and scored a career-high 13 points in his final game.
Senior Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) got in on the hot three-point-shooting by Juniata and swished a trey from the right wing off the assists from Hays. Off a quick inbound pass by senior Pat Cassidy (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg), Ross drained his fourth three of the half to give Juniata the 40-19 lead with less than two minutes left. The Eagles shot over 66 percent from the three-point line in the first half and took a 43-25 lead into the break.
As was the custom of this game, Stapleton swished a three to open scoring in the second 20 minutes. The guard finished with 16 points and eight rebounds in the championship game. The Eagles followed up by breaking Hood's full-court press for an easy layup by Scholly. On the next play, the forward sunk a deep three at the shot-clock buzzer for the 51-28 second half lead. With 14:13 on the clock, Hays inbounded the ball the full length of the court to a wide-open Scholly for the easy layup and the 57-36 Eagle advantage.
Inside of four minutes left to play, senior Lucas Mellott (Warfordsburg, Pa./Southern Fulton) faked his defender on the baseline and found an open Stapleton with a bounce pass under the hoop for the 72-53 Juniata lead. Mellott posted a game-high 11 rebounds as the Eagles won the battle for the boards, 36-21, over Hood. In the closing two minutes, senior Kevin Snyder (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) drained two shots from the free-throw line where Juniata shot almost 70%.
"I don't know if there has been a better week of basketball in Juniata history – from the entire team or from individual guys. Jeremy, Stapleton, all those guys… For Brian, that's just how good he is and I'm really proud of him. He's a kid that really put his heart and soul into everything," added Curley.
Not many teams get to finish the season with a win, but the Eagles never once backed down and closed out the game with the 82-67-championship victory.
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