MADISON, N.J.- The Juniata men's basketball team recovered from a first half deficit to force overtime and held a lead in the extra period but host Drew battled back to go ahead in the final seconds as the Rangers held off the Eagles 79-78 on Saturday afternoon. The loss drops Juniata to 14-6 overall and 7-4 in the Landmark Conference.
The Eagles trailed by five points, 64-59, with 34 seconds remaining in the second half. Damon Rickens (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) nailed a three-point shot with 25 ticks remaining to get JC to within two points of tying the contest up. A foul by Rickens put Drew's Blaine Taylor on the line with 13 seconds to play. Taylor made the front end of two attempts and the lead was three points for the Rangers. After a missed three-pointer from Justin Fleming (Richmond, Va./Benedictine College Prep), Nate Ogle (Falls Church, Va./George Mason) swished a trey with one second left to force the extra period.
The game did not have the makings of a thrilling finish in the first half as Drew led 7-0 and went up as much as 16-2. Juniata was able to knock the deficit down to 11 points, 19-8, with 11:42 showing on the clock. Drew then put up five straight points to take a commanding 26-8 advantage and looked to run away with the game.
The Blue and Gold slowly began to chip away at the deficit and got to within 10 points, 28-18, after a three-pointer from Brandon Martinazzi (Cresson, Pa./Bishop Carroll) with 5:45 remaining the half. Back-to-back threes from the Rangers brought the Drew lead back up to 16 points, 36-20, with 2:45 left. The Eagles finished out strong with a 9-2 run to end the frame as they trailed 39-29 going into the locker room.
JC's hot run to end the first carried over into second with six points scored to narrow the deficit to 39-35. Drew upped the lead back to 10 but a 19-7 spurt by JC gave it its first lead of the afternoon, 53-52, with 7:41 to play. The Rangers wrestled back the lead with a 9-0 run that preceded Juniata's comeback to force overtime.
In OT, jump shots from Dennis Fisher (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle Area) and Fleming put the Eagles up 69-65. After a pair of Ranger free throws, another jumper from Fisher followed by two free throws from Seth Brewer (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) put JC ahead 73-67 with 2:34 left to play.
The Eagles led 77-71 with just under a minute to play and seemed to be on their way to pulling out the victory. An 8-1 run by Drew, however, gave it a 79-78 lead with five seconds left after Mike Klinger converted the traditional three-point play. Juniata nearly pulled off a game-winner as time expired but Fisher's jump shot was off the mark.
All five starters reached double-digit scoring for Juniata in a balanced effort. Marcus Lee (Carrolltown, Pa/Bishop Carroll), Rickens, and Fleming all had 14 points. Rickens also pulled down 10 rebounds for the first double-double of his career. Brewer contributed 13 points and dished out four assists. Fisher netted 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
Juniata led in both overall field goal percentage (44.1%) and three-point field goal percentage (47.8%). The Eagles had a slight advantage in rebounds with a 42-41 edge. Both teams committed 11 turnovers with JC turning the Rangers' miscues into 18 points compared to 12 for the home team. JC led in points in the paint, 26-24, and in bench points, 11-6.
JC is in a three-way tie for third place in the Landmark with Drew and Scranton. Next up for Juniata is a showdown on Wednesday night with first place and #12 ranked Susquehanna. Tip off at Memorial Gymnasium is set for 7 p.m.