WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.- The Juniata men's basketball team grabbed the first win of their season as they used a big second half to pull away at Penn College, 93-67, Monday evening at Bardo Gym.
Chase Husted scored following a Tyler Lapetina offensive rebound to put the Eagles on the board two minutes into the contest. Lapetina drilled a jumper and, on the next offensive possession, scored while being fouled, with his free throw making it 7-7.
Juniata managed to slowly extend their lead over the next few minutes, with two Kyle Ruggery foul shots sending JC up seven, 18-11. The Wildcats put together a run of their own, and a jumper with seven and half minutes to play saw them retake the lead 23-22. A Ross Conway jumper followed by his finding of Elijah Kioko for an and-one layup put JC up three, with the foul shot pushing the lead back to four.
The teams traded buckets down the stretch, with a Conway triple and a Husted layup sending JC into the locker room up by ten at the half.
Lapetina led all scorers with 12, while Ruggery added 10 points off the bench.
The Eagles came flying out to start the second half as they scored eight of the first 10 points as they pushed the lead to 16 early. Juniata would lead by as many as 18 as it appeared they would pull away, but the Wildcats managed to claw their way back within seven on a three, 63-56.
Juniata mounted a 13-0 run over the next four minutes to safely put the game out of reach. Husted found Lapetina for a layup, Conway set up Lapetina for three, Husted found a cutting Conway for a layup, and Husted hit Ruggery, who swished a three before he turned provider for Lapetina for another triple. Lapetina's layup was his 24th point of the game and capped the run as the Eagles led 78-56.
Juniata continued their strong play until the final whistle, with the final margin of victory being 26. They outrebounded Penn College 34-21 and had ten second-chance points to two.
Juniata returns to action at the Behrend Tip-Off Tournament, where they will take on Mount Union Friday at 7:00.
