By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: T.J. Chance-Chin
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – After a thrilling last second victory over regional powerhouse Carnegie Mellon University, the Juniata College men's basketball team will open the Landmark Conference season at home this Saturday, Dec. 7, in a doubleheader against Moravian College. The men will tip off against the Greyhounds at 2 p.m. followed by the women's game at 4 p.m.
"Saturday will really tell us a lot for where we are and how much progress we've made since the beginning of the year," said head coach Greg Curley. "We've looked at this as fitting with the theme of final exams next week. This is the final exam of the first semester to see how much progress we've made and where we are as a team. Win or lose, we need to find that out for sure and then go back to work and figure out what we need to do to get where we want to go."
Juniata is 5-1 on the year and riding a five game winning steak into the opening of league play. Senior Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) is currently leading the Eagles with 97 total points and averaging 16.2 points per game. Classmates Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College) and Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W. Va./John Marshall) are averaging 13.8 and 13.7 points per game respectively. Scholly recently reached the career 1,000 points mark and, with every made three, he continues to add to his program record for career treys. Hays became Juniata's all time leader in steals at the end of the 2012-13 season and is currently averaging 1.2 steals per game.
"I think we've improved over the first six games," said Curley. "I think we've particularly improved on the defensive end. We've improved our practice habits and our understanding of what it means to be a team. Overall I'm happy. We've continued to make progress."
Sophomore Kyle Koehler (Chester Springs, Pa./Devon Prep.) is Juniata's top threat off the bench with 41 total points. On the defensive side of the ball, senior Lucas Mellott (Warfordsburg, Pa./Southern Fulton) is pacing the Eagles with 39 defensive rebounds, 47 total, and an average 7.8 rebounds per game.
"This may be one of the best Landmark Conference seasons going right now," said Curley. "It's going to be an absolute challenge every night. To be as successful as we've been the last few years in the league we're going to have to be even better and that's asking a lot. We've got to stay focused and get better. This is just one game in the league. You can't treat it any more or less. For us, it's a benchmark game to see where we are and how much improvement we need to make."
Moravian is off to a 3-3 start and enters the matchup on Saturday riding a two-game win streak. Junior guard Izel Dickerson is leading the Greyhounds with 111 points, 18.5 points per game, including a buzzer beating half-court three in Moravian's first win of the season over Mt. St. Mary. Sophomore forward Matt Bosch scored a career-high 27 points in the Greyhounds most recent victory and is averaging a team-second-best 13.3 points per game. Senior center Blake English stands at 6' 7" and has totaled 16 blocks through the first six games.
"I'm expecting Moravian's best," said Curley. "They have a nice blend of some veteran guys with some newer guys, some sophomores that only played a little bit last year, and they have a ton of talent. They're a little young at spots, but they've started playing into themselves. They'll know what this game means and they'll be ready to go. They're very difficult to match up. They're athletic inside and they have some guys that can really create their own offense. It's going to be a big challenge for us and we're really going to have to play well."
The series between these two teams began back in the 1922-23 season and Moravian holds the all-time lead 34-26. Since joining the Landmark, Juniata has edged out the Greyhounds eight times in their 12 meetings and in the two meetings last season both teams won on home court – Moravian took the first contest 69-55 in Bethlehem and the Eagles won 80-54 in Huntingdon.
"We're going to try to do what we do and do it well," said Curley. "We're going to take care of the ball, defend, rebound, move the ball, and find the open guy. If we do that, and play hard enough, play with enough confidence, we'll have a chance to be successful. It's a conference game so it'll probably come down to a few plays here and there. This game is a great opportunity. This is what you do it for. Everything we do in our program is focused around what we do in the league. For a competitor, these are the kind of games you want to play in."
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