Lee Reaches 1,000 Point Milestone but Eagles Fall to Rangers
HUNTINGDON, Pa.- Four Eagles reached double figures but visiting Drew got 29 points from Riley Collins as the Rangers took down Juniata 88-73 on Saturday night at Memorial Gym. The loss brings JC’s record to 9-6 overall and 1-3 in the Landmark while Drew improves to 8-7 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
HUNTINGDON, Pa.- Four Eagles reached double figures in scoring but visiting Drew got 29 points from Riley Collins as the Rangers took down Juniata 88-73 on Saturday night at Memorial Gym. The loss brings JC's record to 9-6 overall and 1-3 in the Landmark while Drew improves to 8-7 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
Marcus Lee (Carrolltown, Pa./Bishop Carroll) scored 15 points for the Eagles and with his first basket of the game, he became the 17th player in Juniata history to reach 1,000 points for his career. Lee scored on a jumper with 13:05 remaining in the first half to give JC a 12-10 lead.
Lee's basket was part of a 9-4 run for Juniata that gave it a 21-14 advantage with just over 10 minutes to play in the first frame. Drew ended the half on a 17-7 run to lead 33-28 going into the locker room.
In the second half, a Damon Rickens' (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) three-point shot at 15:44 cut the Drew lead to 39-37. After Drew's Yonathan Napolean answered back with a trey of his own, Lee sank a pair of free throws and Jacob Holsopple (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) converted a layup to get the Eagles to 42-41 at 14:46.
The Rangers jumped further ahead but JC was able to make it a two-possession contest, 51-47, with 11:42 left to play. With the score standing at 55-49, Drew began to pull away as it built a 13-6 run to go up 65-52 at 5:35. The Eagles got as close as 10 points, 83-73, with 48 seconds remaining but Drew made four free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Rickens came off the bench to lead Juniata in scoring with 17 points. He was 4-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc. Brandon Martinazzi (Cresson, Pa./Bishop Carroll) tallied 13 points and also came away with three steals. Paul Martello (York, Pa./York Catholic) had the first double-digit scoring performance of his career with 11 points. He was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
Drew outshot Juniata by a wide margin. The Rangers were good on 32-of-58 (55.2%) shots to the Eagles' 22-of-56 (39.3%). JC did have its best performance to date at the charity stripe with an 84.6% conversion rate.
The Rangers led in total rebounds 40-23. Points in the paint also favored Drew 38-26.
The Eagles next welcome currently #11 ranked Susquehanna on Wednesday night. Tip off from Memorial Gymnasium will be at 7:00 p.m.