HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata men's basketball team were crowned champions of the Juniata Tipoff Tournament after their 66-62 victory over visiting Gwynedd Mercy, Saturday afternoon.
Juniata found themselves in a 5-0 hole in the first four minutes of the game. A layup from Chase Husted (DuBois, Pa. / DuBois Area HS) off an Evan Eisenhart (York, Pa. / Central York H.S.) assist followed by a Nick Rigby (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon H.S.) bucket following a Kohl Bernarding (Cochranton, Pa. / Cochranton H.S.) steal made it 5-4.
A little later, the teams traded threes, with Eisenhart making it for the Eagles as they trailed 11-7. No one scored for nearly four minutes before Husted tossed it Michael Montecalvo (Altoona, Pa. / Bishop Guilfoyle HS) on the right-wing. Montecalvo saw his defender was giving him a little airspace, so he used that space to drill a three to bring JC within one. The sophomore from Altoona, Pa. continued to make plays as he stole a bounce pass on the other hand. He was feeling it as he got the ball on the left and did not hesitate as he splashed his second straight three to give Juniata their first lead.
The teams continued to trade the lead back and forth the rest of the half. In the final two minutes, Rigby missed a three, but the rebound came right back to him. He drove inside and laid the ball in with his left hand while being foul. His free throw put JC up one.
Juniata takes the lead with Nick Rigby's AND 1!!! Eagles lead the Griffins 30-25 at the half #Wingsup #TakingFlight pic.twitter.com/7I94ptYAhf
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) November 21, 2021
Bernarding and Rigby each added two foul shots down the stretch as the Eagles led by five at the break, 30-25.
Gwynedd Mercy took the lead for a moment, five minutes into the second half, but a Husted layup gave JC the lead back at 41-40.
Juniata would slowly grow their lead from there, with more Rigby foul shots pushing the JC lead to nine, 53-44, with a little under eight minutes to play. The Griffins didn't need much time to narrow the deficit and got back within two with four minutes to play. A three from the visitors brought them within two with just over a minute remaining in the game, but the Eagles made their free throws down the stretch to get the win, 66-62.
Husted was named MVP of the tournament while Rigby made the all-tournament team for the Eagles.
66-62 win over the Griffins to win the Tip Off Tournament!! 2-0 on the weekend! #Wingsup #TakingFlight pic.twitter.com/fOjwTg6ugi
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) November 21, 2021
Juniata will travel to take on Chatham, Tuesday at 6:00.
