Juniata men’s hoops sees winning streak end with 68-61 loss at Dickinson

CARLISLE, Pa. – Juniata College men's basketball came up on the short end of a see-saw battle and saw its five-game winning streak come to a close with a 68-61 loss to Dickinson College, Monday night at the Kline Center.

The loss ended the Eagles' season-opening winning streak at five games. At 5-1, Juniata has matched the best start to a season during Greg Curley's tenure as the Eagles' head men's basketball coach. 

Four Juniata players – Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana), Alex Raymond (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Altoona Area), Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College Area), and Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W.Va./John Marshall) – each scored 11 points. Scholly and Stapleton each drained three 3-pointers, contributing to the Eagles' season-high 10 treys on the night, while Raymond dished out four assists.

Nate Higgins (St. Mary's, Pa./Elk County Catholic) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go with four points. Scholly and Dan Sekulski (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) each hauled down six boards.

Dickinson's free-throw shooting proved to be the difference in the contest. The Red Devils (3-2) went to the line 28 times, connecting on 17 of those for a lackluster .607 free-throw shooting percentage.  However the Eagles were just 7-of-12 at the free throw line, as the Red Devils were whistled for just 14 fouls to Juniata's 24.

The Red Devils also shot nearly 62 percent from the field in the second half, rebounding from a 38 percent shooting effort in the opening stanza.

In a neck-and-neck game that offered 17 lead changes and 11 ties, Dickinson's Chris Heine had a pair of 3-pointers in the final two minutes that proved key to the outcome.

Following a Higgins layup to knot the game at 57-57 with 2:07 remaining, Heine drained a trey on Dickinson's next trip up the floor. The Red Devils' Chris Barsanti blocked a layup attempt by Juniata's Hays with Dickinson getting the defensive rebound.  After a Dickinson timeout, Heine splashed a second 3-pointer to put the Red Devils in front, 63-57, with 1:03 left on the clock.

Hays and Higgins were unable to complete layups to reduce the Dickinson lead, with the Red Devils eventually getting the rebound and Logan Furr heading to the line after a Sekulski foul.  Furr converted both shots, stretching the Dickinson lead to eight points, with 48 seconds remaining.

Raymond connected on a 3-pointer with 39 seconds remaining, pulling Juniata to within five of Dickinson, however that would be the Eagles' only successful field goal out of five attempts over the final two minutes.

Juniata shot .338 (22-of-65) from the field, much of that in the second half when the Eagles fired at a .389 (14-of-36) clip. 

Dickinson had three players crack double-digits in scoring, led by Barsanti's 15 points.  Gerry Wixted tallied 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds, with Heine finishing with 11 points. Greg Nicol handed out four assists.

Juniata returns to action this Saturday, Dec. 3, when the Eagles open Landmark Conference play against Susquehanna University in a doubleheader with the women's team. The men's will open the twinbill at 5:30 p.m., with the women's game tipping off at 7:30 p.m.

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