By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: JD Cavrich Photography
CARLISLE, Pa. – In a key early-season matchup, the Juniata College men's basketball team held on for a strong win over Dickinson College, 66-68, to improve to 2-1 on the year. The Eagles were able to shut down the Red Devils offense that had put up 91 and 79 points in its first two games of the year.
"I think it's a really good win early in the season," said head coach Greg Curley. "They're an exceptionally good team. I really think they're one of the top teams in their league and I think they're one of the top teams in the region. It was good for us. I don't know that any of us know how good we are and I think this win validates that we have a chance to be good if we keep working and get better at some things."
The game was a good barometer for the Eagles as Dickinson finished the 2012 season with a 21-8 overall record including a trip to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
"I thought we executed better on defense today," said Curley. "We learned from the weekend and we improved. I thought our ball pressure, for the most part, was pretty good, and our help rotations were pretty sound. The biggest thing is, we took care of the ball. They weren't able to get out in transition and we didn't put ourselves in bad positions."
The Eagles only gave up seven points on the night off of turnovers while scoring 11 of their own on stolen chances. Seniors Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W. Va./John Marshal), Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana), and Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College) all finished the night with double-digit points and senior Lucas Mellott (Warfordsburg, Pa./Southern Fulton) accounted four three of Juniata's five steals in the game. Juniata got points from nine of the 10 players to step on the court and 13 points from non-starters.
"Even though those three guys carried the load for us, I thought we got contributions from everybody," said Curley. "Just about everyone chipped in here and there and made some really big plays for us. We had a lot of young guys in a lot of situations and they showed a lot of growth. They went into a really tough environment and took the challenge and were confident and aggressive."
The Eagles took the lead final lead of the night, 64-62, heading into halftime on a Hays layup. Juniata stretched its advantage to eight with just under 10 minutes remaining when Dickinson started to make a push. The Eagles defense held strong and the team earned its second win of the season.
"We still have a long way to go," said Curley. "We have to be better defensively and we need to continue to work offensively on executing in what we're trying to do. It was a good step this time of year. I said to the team, 'it's only as good as what we get out of it.' We've got to learn as much from this as we did last weekend and keep moving forward."
Juniata will return home this Saturday, Nov. 23, at 2 p.m. to host Pitt-Bradford in the 2013-14 men's basketball home opener at Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.
"We just want to get better and find a way to improve off of this game," said Curley. "I'm sure there will be new challenges with Bradford. They're going to really pressure us. We have to take steps from this past weekend and today and continue to use the opportunities to their fullest."
Follow Your Eagles! Stay up-to-date on your Juniata College Eagles by following us on twitter (@JuniataEagles) and on Facebook (Juniata Eagles).
