HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Juniata men's basketball advanced to the championship game of the 21st Annual Doc Greene Tournament Friday night after cruising to a 64-43 win over Eastern University in the Kennedy Sports+Recreation Center. Juniata (6-2) took the lead four seconds into the contest and never looked back. Eastern dropped to 1-7 with the loss.
"We came out and did what we needed to do," said Head Coach Greg Curley. "I liked the fact that we got a lot of guys in the game. We saw a lot of things we like and a lot of things we need to work on."
Juniata cleared their bench in the contest. All 15 players on the roster saw time on the court in the win. Juniors Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W. Va) and Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) were the only players to hit double digits. Hays led all players on the floor with 17 points. He shot 8-for-9 from the free throw line and had a game-high four assists. Stapleton hit double-digits for the sixth time this season with 15 points after shooting 77-percent from the floor.
"Kevin and Jeremy came out and played very, very well," added Curley. "They stepped up and I liked the way they were both aggressive."
The Eagles took an 11-point lead on a layup by Stapleton with 7:02 left in the first half. Eastern would never pull closer than 10 for the remainder of the contest.
Juniata scored 24 points off turnovers and outrebounded the Eagles 38-27 in the win.
Eastern was led by Anthony Bertolino who finished with nine points in 31 minutes on the floor. They will face Valley Forge Christian in the consolation game tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m.
The Eagles will play Farmingdale State for the tournament championship at 4 p.m., following the conclusion of the consolation game. This will be the first meeting of the two programs. The Rams advanced to the championship after defeating Valley Forge Christian 73-57. They were led by their 7-1 senior forward AJ Matthews. He finished with a game-high 29 points and 25 rebounds.
"We've played 7-footers before," said Curley. "You know, 6-10 into 7-0 is not a lot different and we've got some 6-10 guys in the league so it'll be a challenge but it's an opportunity. Every challenge is an opportunity and it's a great chance for us to see the way we play."
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