Red Hot Catholic Stops Eagles, 83-60

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Juniata men's basketball team ran into a sharp shooting Catholic squad as the Cardinals defeated the Eagles 83-60 on Wednesday night. The win puts CUA (18-5) in a tie for first place in the Landmark with a record of 11-3 while the Eagles (15-9) remain in fourth place with a mark of 8-7.

Catholic got out to a quick start as it led 29-4 with 13:12 remaining in the first half. The Cardinals shot 11-of-14 from the field during that timespan and hit six three-point shots.

Juniata got a little momentum going with 8:13 left as they went on an 11-0 run to knock their deficit down to 15, 35-20, at the 5:10 mark. The CUA lead was still 15 points, 41-26, with 2:09 to play in the half. The score stood at 45-28 in Catholic's favor at halftime.

The Eagles looked to slow down the Cardinal momentum in the second half but Catholic went on an 11-0 run to increase its lead to 56-28 at 17:12. JC got as close as 77-60 with 3:07 remaining but the deficit was still too much to overcome for the Eagles.

Marcus Lee (Carrolltown, Pa./Bishop Carroll) led Juniata with 12 points. Justin Fleming (Richmond, Va/Benedictine College Prep) added 11 points and dished out three assists. Damon Rickens (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) scored nine points and had a team-high six rebounds. Seth Brewer (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) had a season-best seven assists to go along with seven points and three rebounds.

Both teams had 22 points in the paint. Catholic led in points off of turnovers with a 30-18 advantage. The Eagles bench outscored Catholic's 24-4. Rebounds were in Catholic's favor, 34-29.

Juniata closes out the regular season this Saturday in Bethlehem against Moravian. A win by the Eagles will clinch a berth in the Landmark Tournament. Tip off from Johnston Hall will be at 2 p.m.