HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The offenses were free-flowing on both sides of a tightly contested 85-80 victory for the Juniata men's basketball team over non-conference opponent Gwynedd Mercy on Wednesday night at Memorial Gymansium.
Mason Hardy had a career-high 19 points leading the Eagles offensively and defensively with three steals, eight rebounds, and five assists. Three other Juniata players had double digits in points, including Tyler Lapetina (18 points, 2 assists), Chase Husted (16 points, one point from 1000 points, five rebounds, two steals, two assists), and Gabe Guidinger (10 points, six rebounds, four assists, one block). Evan Eisenhart's nine points all came from threes, while Neco Campbell led the bench in points with eight, including a pair of blocks.
The Eagles shot a season-high .510 from the field and .379 on three-pointers, converting on 11 chances, while the Griffins were .419 on field goals and .391 on three-pointers.
The Eagles opened the game on a 7-0 run, with Hardy sinking a layup in traffic and hitting a pair of free throws, while Eisenhart hit his first three from the left wing. The Eagles continued to maintain the gap around ten points early, making use of a Campbell three for a 17-9 lead and another from Hardy minutes later for a 20-11 advantage. Watson had a left-corner three of his own soon after to counter a Griffins three for a 24-16 lead through the first eight minutes.
The Griffins began to stake a claim at the lead soon after on a 12-0 run that included a pair of shots outside the perimeter for Gwynedd Mercy. Guidinger sank a pair of free throws, followed by Eisenhart generating a steal and passing to Hardy on the fast break for a layup to level the game at 28 each.
The Griffins stifled this with another strong run, going on a 9-2 stretch to go ahead 39-30. Juniataa rebounded with an 11-0 run of their own, including Kyle Ruggery's jumper at the top of the key, two more free throws from Hardy, a right-wing free three from him, and a layup from Husted. Husted completed the run with a pair of free throws to take the lead at 41-39 with two minutes to play in the half.
The Griffins soon answered back with one free throw converted, a layup on the breakaway, and a recovered rebound on an and-one for another layup to give them a 44-41 halftime break.
The sides traded points early, with Juniata twice drawing level early before taking the lead as Husted snagged a loose ball in a scramble following a missed shot and dished it to Lapetina, driving into the paint for a 50-49 lead. After a Husted continued to contribute with a free throw, driving layup, and an and-one. The Griffin fought back to retake the lead 55-54 via a three-pointer and a layup with an and-one.
A Guidinger left-wing three was soon followed by a pair of free throws from Hardy and Campbell to thwart a pair of back-to-back Griffins layups to tie the game 59-59 with eight minutes to go. Eisenhart and Campbell soon rained threes, followed by a Lapetina driving layup from the left wing to get Juniata in front 67-61 with five minutes to play. After a few scores for each team, back-to-back three from Lapetina and Eisenhart put the lead at 77-65, while another moments later from Lapetina on the right wing put Juniata ahead 81-67 with 2:30 to play.
Back-to-back threes from the Griffins gave them a fighting chance with 1:30 to go with a 81-75 scoreline, but they could get no closer than a four-point deficit as Juniata outpaced them as the fouls racked up on both sides in the final minute.
Juniata seeks a third-straight Landmark Conference victory and fourth overall as they travel to Wilkes on Saturday for a 2:00 pm tipoff for a first-ever Landmark contest against the Colonels.
