CENTER VALLEY, Pa.- Juniata used an 18-4 run in the second half to pull away as it defeated St. Joseph's of Brooklyn 65-54 in the consolation game of the Al Senavitis Memorial Tournament hosted by DeSales University on Friday night. The Eagles finish the 2016 portion of their schedule with a record of 7-4.
The Eagles scored the game's first basket on a layup by Dennis Fisher (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle Area) but St. Joseph's went on a 10-0 run lead 10-2 at the 16:18 mark. The Bears' lead was 14-6 with 13:28 remaining but Juniata cut into its deficit with a pair of free throws from Paul Martello (York, Pa./York Catholic) and a three-point shot from Brandon Martinazzi (Cresson, Pa./Bishop Carroll) to get the score to 14-11 with just under 10 minutes to play in the half.
The St. Vincent lead was 25-17 with 4:32 to go in the frame. JC ended the half on a strong note as it went on a 16-6 run and led 33-31 at halftime.
In the second half, the Eagle advantage stood at 42-40 with 15:03 remaining on the game clock. It was then when JC mounted its big run that spanned 8:30 of game time and the Eagles led 60-44 at 5:48. That was the backbreaker for the Bears as they could get no closer than 10 points.
Three Eagles scored in double figures led by Martinazzi's 15 points of 6-of-12 shooting. He also had five rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Seth Brewer (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) and Marcus Lee (Carrolltown, Pa./Bishop Carroll) both added 11 points each with Brewer collecting five rebounds, five assists, and three steals, and Lee picking up seven rebounds, two steals, one block, and one assist. Damon Rickens (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) scored nine points in 24 minutes off of the bench. Brewer was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Juniata won despite only shooting 39% (23-of-59) from the floor. The defense held St. Joseph's to just 32.3% (21-of-65). The Eagles had the rebounding advantage 39-38.
JC returns to action in 2017 on January 3 when it hosts Lancaster Bible in a non-conference game. Tip-off will be at 7:00 p.m.