Juniata MBB shoots its way past the Rangers, 74-66

MADISON, N.J. – Four Juniata College players in double figures and a red hot shooting performance helped counter Drew University's three-point barrage as the Eagles notched a 74-66 Landmark Conference men's basketball victory over the Rangers, Friday night at Baldwin Gym.

Juniata, now 14-5 overall and 6-2 in the Landmark Conference, fired at a .475 clip (29-of-61) from the floor. The Eagles were 7-of-17 from three-point range, led by sophomore Brian Scholly's (State College, Pa./State College Area) 5-of-7 mark beyond the arc on his way to a team-high 19 points.

Junior Alex Raymond (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Altoona Area) netted 14 points to go with six rebounds, while Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) and Dan Sekulski (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone Area) finished with 13 and 11 points respectively.

Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W.Va./John Marshall) dished out five assists off the bench, while Raymond finished with three. 

The quartet of Juniata double-digit scorers had to balance out the game-high 33 points scored by Drew's Asmar Capers, who was 9-of-19 from the floor with a seven treys and an 8-of-11 mark at the free-throw line.

Capers was the lone Ranger to score in double digits, while John Ford hauled down 10 rebounds.

With the game deadlocked 16-16 at the 11:40 mark of the first half, Juniata went on a 14-4 run that included treys by Scholly and Raymond. Austin Ankney (Somerset, Pa./Somerset) capped the run with a pair of free throws, leaving the Eagles with a 30-20 lead with 3:58 showing on the clock.

Juniata's lead held at 38-29 at the half, and the margin reached 15 points, 51-36, at the 14:09 mark following another Scholly trey.

Drew (4-15, 2-6 Landmark) briefly cut the Juniata lead down to single digits on four different occasions in the second, with the Eagles responding each time to get their lead back up to 10 or more.  The Rangers finally whittled Juniata's lead into single digits for a final time in the game's waning seconds, after Evan Elberg's layup with nine seconds remaining.

Juniata returns to the hardwood on Saturday, Jan. 28, when it travels to Kings Point, N.Y., to face the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

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