READING, Pa.- The Juniata men's basketball team couldn't keep pace in the second half with the Alvernia on the road as they lost their season opener, 66-48, Wednesday evening at PEC Gymnasium.

Mason Hardy found Gabe Guidinger for a three from the right wing for the first Eagle bucket of the season. The Golden Wolves answered with a bucket on the other end, and Guidinger converted a nifty reverse layup for the Eagles to make it 5-2. 

The Eagle defense gave the hosts fits early on as Juniata forced misses and turnovers, holding Alvernia to 12 points in the opening 12 minutes. 

Chase Husted found Guidinger cutting to the hoop to make it 19-12. 

The Golden Wolves used two threes to spark themselves to a quick eight points, and suddenly, it was 22-20. 

Alvernia took their first lead of the game in the final four minutes of the half. The teams traded buckets down the stretch, and Juniata went into the locker room trailing 31-28.  

Guidinger and Husted combined to score 24 of the team's 28 points at the break. 

A Husted assist on a Tyler Lapetina triple made it 33-33 with 15 to go in the game. From there, the Golden Wolves went on a 13-3 run over the next six minutes. 

A pair of Husted free throws cut the deficit to nine momentarily, but the Eagles couldn't narrow the gap any further the rest of the way. 

Husted tallied 20 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists, while Guidinger totaled 13 points, six rebounds, four steals, and three assists.

The Eagles will play their first home game of the year next Tuesday when they host Penn State Altoona at 7:00.