Juniata Earns Comeback Win Over Drew, 70-63
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Juniata men’s basketball team erased a 10-point deficit in the second half to earn the 70-63 win over Drew University Saturday night in the Kennedy Sports+Recreation Center. Juniata (17-8, 9-5 Landmark) saw three Eagles tie for the game-high of 15 points in their final home game of the regular season.
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Juniata men's basketball team erased a 10-point deficit in the second half to earn the 70-63 win over Drew University Saturday night in the Kennedy Sports+Recreation Center. Juniata (17-8, 9-5 Landmark) saw three Eagles tie for the game-high of 15 points in their final home game of the regular season.
"It's a really good quality win against a team that came in and battled," said head coach Greg Curley. "They got a lot of guys that can make shots and I thought we stuck with it and made the plays we needed to."
Senior Alex Raymond (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Altoona) and juniors Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College) and Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W. Va./John Marshall) each posted 15 points. Raymond tied fellow senior Nate Higgins (St. Mary's, Pa./Elk County Catholic) with a game-high five assists.
The Eagles trailed by 10 less than five minutes into the second half.
"We talked about getting out to a fast start the second half and really taking momentum and we didn't," said Curley. "I thought the great news was I don't think anyone panicked. I think we just kept playing, and the guys stayed confident in what they did. You got to trust your ability and what we can do and it turned out to be a good night."
Raymond hit four back-to-back three's to spark the final comeback. Juniata took the lead (67-59) with 1:27 left in the game on a three by Scholly. Drew (9-16, 3-11 Landmark), who stayed aggressive and with 19 seconds remaining, managed to pull within four, but missed two three-point opportunities before the clock expired. They were led by Mike Klinger who finished with 14 points.
Juniata now prepares to face the University of Scranton in the Landmark Conference semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.
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