TOWSON, Md.- Juniata shot a season-best 66% from the floor and used a late second half run to pull away from Goucher and win 75-61 on Wednesday night. It was the first Landmark win of the season for the Eagles as they improve to 9-5 overall and 1-2 in the conference. The Gophers drop to 3-11 and remain winless in conference play at 0-3.
In the first half, the Eagles led 14-9 with 12:29 showing on the game clock. An 8-0 Goucher run gave the home team the lead, 17-14, with just under nine minutes remaining in the period. JC used a 13-4 run to go ahead 27-21 with 2:55 left. Goucher netted a pair of free throws with 49 ticks to go and Juniata went into halftime ahead 27-23.
Goucher got the score to 33-31 early in the second half but an 8-0 spurt by the Eagles expanded their advantage to 41-31. Three-point shots from the Gophers' Dwayne Morton and Elliot Wiley closed the gap to four points, 41-37, at 13:42. Goucher would stay with Juniata for most of the second half and only trailed 54-47 with 6:43 left in the contest. A 12-3 run by Juniata increased its lead to 67-50 and the Eagles never looked back from that point on.
Marcus Lee (Carrolltown, Pa./Bishop Carroll) scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting to lead the Eagles. Seth Brewer (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) added 12 points, five assists, three rebounds, and three steals. Off the bench, Jacob Holsopple (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) had a season-best eight points and grabbed four rebounds.
Juniata also performed well at the charity stripe as it was 10-of-12 (83.3%). JC held the rebounding advantage 28-17. The Eagles had a 42-16 lead in the paint.
The Eagles return to the friendly confines of Memorial Gymnasium this Saturday as they host Drew. The game will follow the women's contest at 4:00 p.m.