HUNTINGDON, Pa. – This Friday and Saturday, the Juniata men's basketball team will host the 23rd Annual Comfort Inn Doc Greene Tournament at Memorial Gymnasium. The first game on Friday will feature two of the top teams in Division III as #16 North Central College from Illinois will play #10 Dickinson College at 5 p.m. The Eagles will face Penn State York in the second game of the night at 7 p.m. The losing teams will play a consolation game at 2 p.m. on Saturday while the winning teams will advance to the championship game at 4 p.m.
"Doc Greene was the longest tenured and winningest coach for a long time here at Juniata," said head coach Greg Curley. "He was a dentist in town, and a long time basketball coach that had a lot of success here. He's one of the founders of our program. Whatever levels of success we've had can be attributed to his beginnings. This was a tournament that was started by Jim Zauzig in Doc's name and it's something that we've gladly continued and hope to carry forward for a long time to come."
Juniata
After dropping their first game of the season, the Eagles won four games in a row before losing their last two in Landmark Conference play. Their current record stands at 4-3. Junior Justin Fleming and freshman Marcus Lee are 1-2 in scoring with a 15.3 and 14.3 scoring average, respectively. Lee leads the Eagles in field goal percentage with 60.9%. Junior Kyle Koehler has team highs in rebounds (4.1/gm.) and steals (1.3/gm.). Freshman Seth Brewer is averaging nearly two assists a game.
Penn State York
The Nittany Lions are 5-4. Josh Jamison is the leading scorer on the team and is averaging 17 points per game. He is also the team’s leading rebounder with a 5.2 average. Lucas Jewel is averaging 4.7 assists per contest. As a team, the Nittany Lions have only given up 58.7 points per game which leads the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). Their 37.6% three-point conversion rate is second overall and their 81.6 points per game is fourth.
Juniata and Penn State York have never played each other.
#10 Dickinson
The Red Devils are ranked #10 in the latest D3hoops.com poll and are currently 6-1 on the season. Dickinson has qualified for the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons and advanced to the Elite 8 last year. Four of their five starters are averaging in double figures led by Gerry Wixler’s 16.1 points per game. He also has 11 blocked shots and averaging 8.6 boards per game.
The Juniata vs. Dickinson series dates back to the 1907-08 season and is one of the oldest series in Eagles’ history. The Red Devils lead 36-31 but the Eagles have won four out of the last five including last year’s 68-66 victory in Carlisle. Brendan Angradi missed a potential game-winning three-point shot for the Red Devils with one second left as Juniata held on for the victory.
#16 North Central (IL)
North Central is undefeated on the year with a perfect 6-0 record and is #16 in the latest D3hoops.com poll. Among their wins was a 63-56 victory over #11 Wisconsin Stevens-Point on November 29. The Cardinals have three players scoring in double figures led by Charles Rosenberg’s 18.2 points per contest. Jack Buchett is 26-of-39 in field goals and converting 66.7% of his shots. He is nearly averaging a double-double with 10.2 points and 9.2 rebounds a game.
The Cardinals played their inaugural season in the 1902-03 academic year and has yet to face Juniata.
