WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Juniata men's basketball team fell to a strong Catholic offense while struggling in shooting in an 82-48 defeat on Wednesday evening.
Chase Husted collected the most points for Juniata, with 14 points in the second half. He also totaled a team-best seven rebounds. Gabe Guidinger totaled eight points, going four-for-five from the free throw line.
The Cardinals were 48.3% from field goals and 41.9% on three-point shots, while Juniata was a season-low 29.4% from field goals and 7.1% from threes, converting one on the day.
Scoring was low to start the contest, with Catholic drawing an early 8-0 advantage through the seven minutes of play off a pair of jump shots and a pair of layups. Kohl Bernarding hit an unmarked Kyle Ruggery on the right corner in transition for a three to break the drought. Catholic fired back on the next possession with their first three to improve to an 11-3 advantage.
After Elijah Kioko converted one of two free throws, Catholic again went on a tear with 12 straight points to build a 22-4 cushion through 12 minutes of play. Guidinger earned a foul and sank both to stop the run, and Rigby drove into the paint from the left with a jump shot on the next possession. Catholic followed with a driving dunk from the right. Jackson Byer tacked on a layup, and Guidinger scored a jumper to make it 24-12.
Catholic then sank another three, followed by Guidinger again converting two of two free throws. Catholic then posted six straight, with Tyler Lapetina wrapping up scoring in the half with a mid-range jump shot. Juniata entered the break down 37-16.
Juniata struggled to a 19.2% field goal percentage, with just one of eight three's converted. The Eagles also conceded 10 turnovers. In comparison, Catholic went 54.2% from field goals with five of 12 threes converted.
Catholic opened the half with a three, followed by a Husted jump shot. The pattern repeated itself with a Cardinals three and a Husted in each team's next possession. Catholic posted three points on each side of a Guidinger layup to go ahead by a 49-22 margin through three minutes in the second. Rigby then found Husted for a layup, followed by two-of-two for Catholic on free throws, with a three on their next possession.
Husted sank two of two free throw attempts, followed by a Cardinals layup and a free throw for a 57-26 score with 13 minutes to play. Catholic continued to maintain a gap of around thirty points for the remainder of the second half, for a final scoreline of 82-46.
Catholic outscored Juniata 45-32 in the second half. Juniata improved in field goal shooting, going 40.0%. They were unable to convert on six attempts. The Cardinals limited themselves to three turnovers while going 42.1% from outside the three-point line.
The loss ends a nine-game winning streak dating back to December 19th and a six-game Landmark Conference winning streak to open conference play.
Halfway through Landmark Conference play, Juniata sits in second place with a 6-1 record, level with Landmark Conference leaders Catholic via winning percentage, but the Cardinals hold the tiebreaker with tonight's victory. With seven games to play, the Eagles draw close to clinching a Landmark Conference playoff position, sitting four games ahead of fifth-place Drew, the first team currently outside the playoff four.
Juniata starts the second half of Landmark conference play with a visit to Madison, N.J. to play the Drew Rangers on Saturday, January 25, at 4:00 pm. The Eagles opened Landmark Conference competition against Drew with a 65-53 victory at Memorial Gymnasium in December that saw Husted's seventh career double-double (23 points, 13 rebounds).
