HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata men's basketball team won the ECAC Men's Basketball Championship 83-77 Sunday afternoon in a loud Memorial Gymnasium, holding off a late push from Alvernia.
Chase Husted put together his 29th career double-double, with 25 points, ten rebounds, six assists, a steal, and a block. Evan Eisenhart had 21 points, three assists, and two steals, while Gabe Guidinger totaled 16 points, three rebounds, three assists, a steal, and two blocks. Tyler Lapetina had 10 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Mason Hardy tallied six points, seven assists, and a steal as he navigated some early foul trouble.
Guidinger blew past his defender on the right wing for a layup to open the scoring a minute into the contest. Alvernia split a pair of foul shots, Eisenhart splashed a deep three from the wing, the Golden Wolves made two foul shots, and Husted made a jumper from above the foul line. Eisenhart found Lapetina cutting to the hoop, and he finished with his left hand on the right side to push the JC advantage to six.
A Sho Watson left-hand layup had the Eagles up 11-3 in the first four minutes.
The Golden Wolves got within three, 11-8, before Husted made a foul shot and, on the next offensive possession, swished a three from the top of the key. Husted added a putback to push the Juniata advantage back to nine.
Alvernia controlled the next three minutes as JC went cold, and the Golden Wolves tied the game at 17 with a three.
The Eagles outscored the Golden Wolves by eight the rest of the half as the offenses got hot, with the score 44-36 as the teams headed into the locker room.
Guidinger provided a spark at the buzzer as he drilled a three while being fouled at the buzzer to double the Juniata lead.
The Eagles looked to put the game away as they pushed the lead to 16 on an Eisenhart three off a handoff from Husted on the right wing.
Five threes in seven minutes helped the visitors get within one, 70-69, with just over four to play.
Following a timeout, JC executed perfectly. Hardy flipped the ball to Eisenhart at the top of the key, who hit Husted down low. His nifty reverse layup pushed the lead back to three. On the next Golden Wolves possession, Guidinger's active hands poked the ball away from an Alvernia player, and Lapetina snagged the loose ball before tossing it ahead to Guidinger. He shrugged off the Golden Wolf defender and laid it in.
Alvernia answered with a contested three from the left wing to cut the JC advantage back to one. Following another timeout, Lapetina drove and scored on a scoop shot with his left hand, and the Golden Wolves responded with a turnaround jumper on the baseline as the Eagles led by two with a minute and a half to play.
Hardy split two foul shots, so Juniata led by three in the final minute. Alvernia's center went up to lay the ball in, and Guidinger blocked it from behind. Hardy found Husted for a layup to push the lead to five, but the Golden Wolves nailed another deep three to get within two. Eisenhart was fouled and calmly made two foul shots to ice the win.
The Eagles finish the year 17-11 and are ECAC Champions for the third time in program history.
