HUNTINGDON, Pa.- Juniata led 34-20 after the first half but visiting Randolph outscored the Eagles 45-19 in the second frame as the Wildcats won 65-53 to claim the 24th annual Doc Greene Tournament at Memorial Gymnasium. JC falls from the ranks of the unbeaten as their record goes to 8-1 while Randolph improves to 7-1.
The two teams were tied 9-9 at the 11:25 mark of the first half before a 23-11 Eagle run gave Juniata some separation over the Wildcats and the 14 point lead at intermission. The Eagles made five three-point shots during that span including two from Kyle Koehler (Chester Springs, Pa./Devon Prep) and Marcus Lee's (Carrolltown, Pa./Bishop Carroll) first three-point basket of the season. Juniata was sharp as it was good on 14-of-25 (56%) of its field goals and 6-of-11 (54.5%) from beyond the three-point arc.
Randolph came out in the second half on fire as it hit its first three shots including a pair of treys from Corey Brown to reduce its deficit to six points, 34-28, at the 17:18 mark. That was part of a 29-5 run that put the Wildcats up 49-39 with just over seven minutes remaining in the game.
Despite losing their lead, the Eagles kept up with a 6-2 run that was highlighted by Justin Fleming's (Richmond, Va./Benedictine College Prep) three-point shot with 5:42 left to get Juniata to within 51-45. Free throws from Randolph's Ryan Fields increased the Wildcats lead to 54-45. JC would get as close as seven points with 4:07 to play but Randolph made eight of 10 free throws to come away with the win.
The second half was an entirely different story as Juniata from the floor went 6-of-25 (24%) and was only good at 2-of-11 (18.2%) of its three-pointers. Randolph, on the other hand, was good on 13-of-25 shots (52%) and 4-of-8 (50%) from three-point land.
Head coach Greg Curley commented that Randolph took his team out of their game in the second half. He acknowledged that the physicality of the Wildcats wore the Eagles down and that they did not react very well to it.
Lee, Fleming, and Koehler all scored 11 points for Juniata. Koehler also led the team in rebounds with seven. Lee and Fleming were both named to the All-Tournament Team.
Randolph had advantages over Juniata in several categories. The Wildcats led in rebounds 36-26, second chance points 13-5, points in the paint 20-10, and in bench points 22-9.
The Eagles return to the hardwood next Saturday when they host Pitt-Bradford. Tip off is schedule from 2:00 p.m.
