Juniata Wins Dramatic Championship Game Over Nazareth, 57-56

By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
Photo: Laura Chapman 

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Juniata College men's basketball team walked away from the championship game of the 22^nd Annual Comfort Inn Doc Greene Tournament with a last-second 57-56 victory over Nazareth College. Senior Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W. Va.) finished the night with a game-high 17 points, notched his career 1,000 points, and was named tournament Most Valuable Player. Classmate Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College) was named to the All-Tournament team.

"You couldn't ask for anything more out of that game," said head coach Greg Curley. "That's a high caliber team. They're as physical as it gets, as talented as it gets at all positions, the depth that they have, they're very well coached, and that challenged us in a lot of ways."

The Eagles opened scoring early with an 8-2 lead. Nazareth responded with the next 11 points before Juniata finally scored again on a layup from freshman Justin Fleming (Doswell, Va./Benedictine College Prep.) with nine minutes left to play. Scholly tacked on back-to-back jumpers to close the gap to one at 14-15 Nazareth. He would finish the night with 14 points, 2-2 from the foul line, and five rebounds.

The Golden Flyers started to pull away in the closing five minutes of the half, holding an eight-point lead at 22-14 with four minutes to play. Both teams traded a series of defensive stops in the half with Nazareth pulling down 20 rebounds and Juniata grabbing 13. With the Eagles down ten, freshman Nate Ogle (Falls Church, Va./George Mason) nailed a three on a clean dish from Hays to help build some Juniata momentum. Nazareth carried an eight-point lead into halftime.

"Their [formation] gave us a lot of problems early, but I thought we made the adjustments and started attacking better," said Curley. "We had some shots that didn't go in that we typically make and we had to play through that frustration, the credit for that goes to them. They're a good team. They're a good defensive team. We try to do that same thing to other teams. The important lesson for the guys is that when you play really good teams things don't come as easily. It's really about who is going to flinch first and who is going to be able to stick with it."

Out of the break Juniata began to chip away and the Flyers lead, closing the difference down to five after three minutes of action. Both teams continued to struggle offensively with their shooting from strong defensive play. With 15 minutes left to play, Nazareth stretched its lead out to ten. Looking at yet another 10-point deficit, Scholly drove his way through the paint for a layup.

"It's important for our guys to understand what they are capable of," said Curley. "I think we'll get a lot of mileage out of that. They're averaging 80 a game and we held them to 57. The guys were frustrated at halftime because they held us to 21, which hasn't happened to us much, but we held them to 29. If you told me that we were going to hold a team to 29 and still be down I wouldn't have believed you."

With 7:41 on the clock, Hays drained a free throw for his ninth point of the night and his career 1,000 point. As the Eagles started to gain some momentum, Hays drove to the basket for a layup and senior Pat Cassidy (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) was there for the tip in to cut Nazareth's lead to five with 4:50 to play. Senior Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) nailed a monster trey on a dish from Hays with 3:15 left on the clock to bring the Eagles to within two at 48-50 Nazareth.

"Nazareth is a very good team," said Curley. "They've played an extremely tough schedule. They are talented and physical and they match up to us and give us some difficulties. It wasn't unexpected that we were going to struggle. It was a good team. It was two really committed defensive teams. We've got to play these tough games early so guys understand what it's like going into big games against good teams."

With 53 seconds left Stapleton sunk another three for the one point 55-54 Juniata lead. Nazareth responded with two points at the other end for the 56-55 Golden Flyers lead giving the Eagles one last possession. Hays carried the ball across mid court and, with just second left on the clock, drove for the basket and rolled in the last two points. Nazareth's half-court heave was no good and the Eagles earned the dramatic 57-56 championship game victory improving to 8-1 on the year.

"This was one heck of a weekend for Jeremy," said Curley. "He played unbelievably well. He really carried our team when we were struggling. He's such a creative and dynamic player. He has a flow and creativity to his game that a coach can't teach. We're blessed to have him and I appreciate everything he's done for this program."

Juniata goes on the road for a rescheduled match up with Washington & Jefferson this Thursday night. The Eagles will next return home after the New Year, Jan. 3-4, to host the annual Holiday Tournament. Juniata will face Valley Forge Christian at Friday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.

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