SELINSGROVE, Pa.- The Juniata men's basketball team took down top-seeded Susquehanna, 58-56, Wednesday evening in Orlando W. Houts Gymnasium as the Eagles silenced a rowdy River Hawk crowd.
The win means the Eagles advance to the Landmark Championship; they will travel to take on The University of Scranton on Saturday. The Royals upended two-seeded University of Catholic, 70-63, in the Landmark semifinal.
Tyler Lapetina got things going for the Eagles with a triple from the top of the key. After a stop, Lapetina drove from the right wing, stopped, and rose up, banking in a contested jumper to put JC up by five. SU came back and tallied the next five points before Chase Husted scored on a putback. The Eagles went cold for the next several minutes while SU went on a 7-0 run to go up 14-7.
Mason Hardy broke the cold spell with a strong drive from the right wing and finished high off the glass. Susquehanna scored on a jumper, and Hardy drilled a three off a pass from Kyle Ruggery. Gabe Guidinger lobbed the ball over the River Hawk defense to Husted, who finished easily inside to bring the Eagles within four, 18-14.
Lapetina got past his defender on the left side of the hoop and finished with a reverse layup while being fouled. His free throw tied things at 22. The teams would exchange buckets over the final five minutes of the half, with Evan Eisenhart swishing a three from the top of the key in the final five seconds.
Susquehanna opened the second with a layup to tie it up again, but the Eagles embarked on a 7-0 run over the next few minutes to create a little breathing room. Husted scored on another putback, Lapetina converted a three, got a steal on the other end, and tossed to Hardy. He found Husted in the post who laid it in to make it 39-32.
Another three from Lapetina, following great hustle by Husted to keep possession for the Eagles, and a layup from Nick Rigby helped maintain the Eagle lead, as Juniata led 43-35.
With six minutes to go in the game, Susquehanna converted a three to slice the JC led to three, 54-51. The defenses locked in from there, as neither team scored until the River Hawks swished a jumper from the foul line to make it 54-53 with under three minutes on the game clock. On the other end, Husted found Lapetina cutting to the hoop, and he finished with the left hand. SU scored on a layup, and Lapetina made a difficult floater from the elbow to put JC back up three with a minute and a half to play.
After a JC foul, Susquehanna split a pair of foul shots, so the Eagles led by two. The teams didn't score the rest of the way, with Juniata missing a three and SU missing two shots. Husted gathered the rebound and was fouled with 13 seconds left. He missed the front end of a one-and-one, and JC fouled to prevent the River Hawks from getting a look at a three. SU inbounded from the right side of the floor with eight seconds left, their guard got to the rim and flipped up a shot, but it rimmed out. Husted gathered the ball, and the clock hit zero as JC punched their ticket to the Landmark final.
Husted had a huge game for the Eagles, putting up 16 points, and grabbing 18 rebounds, along with two assists, a steal, and a block. Lapetina led all scorers with 19 points to go with five rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Rigby chipped in with six points, four rebounds, and an assist off the bench.
Juniata returns to the Landmark final, having last made it in 2017-18. Juniata is 3-1 all-time against Susquehanna in Landmark semifinals and 4-1 overall, having defeated them in their final year in the Middle Atlantic Conference back in 2006-07, all under head coach Greg Curley. This will be the Eagle's fifth appearance in a Landmark Championship and the third time they will take on Scranton.
Finals Bound‼️��#WingsUp #TakingFlight #GoEagles pic.twitter.com/ispN6QyHCX
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) February 23, 2023
Juniata will play at the University of Scranton Saturday at 4:30.