HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Juniata men's basketball team used a 28-point halftime lead to defeat Moravian College 80-54 Saturday night in the Kennedy Sports+Recreation Center. Juniata (14-7, 6-4 Landmark) held the Greyhounds to just 15 points in the first half, a season-low for the defense.
"I was really proud," said head coach Greg Curley. "It was an overall really good team effort. You know, to come off a really, really tough road stretch and come back and play that way, it's good to be home."
Three Eagles finished in double-figures. Juniors Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College) and Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W.Va./John Marshall) led the way with 18 and 15 points, respectively. Hays also had game highs of six assists and four steals. Fellow junior Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) finished 13 points.
The Eagles shot 45-percent from the floor in the first half, while Moravian struggled, going 0-9 from three point range and shooting 25-percent as a team. Juniata scored 34 points off 21 Greyhound turnovers and led by as many as 41 points halfway through the second half.
"This was a very big game," Curley added. "They beat us here last year. They are a tough matchup for us. We have struggled with some of the things they do and to come out and do what we need to do and play our best is what I was hoping for regardless of score, but that seemed to work too."
Moravian was led by Izel Dickerson and D.J. Strayhorn. Both finished with a team-high nine points.
Juniata stays home, hosting Goucher College this Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. The Eagles are 6-5 all-time against Goucher and defeated the Gophers 60-54 when they were in Towson, Md. back on Jan. 16.
"Goucher is a really tough match up for us," said Curley. "They are very big, very physical and very athletic. We are going to have to take a step and come out with the same mindset and carry it over. And I think we are going to see what this game meant by how we are going to play Wednesday."
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