Defense, Good Ball Movement Powers Eagles Past Moravian
December 4, 2021

Defense, Good Ball Movement Powers Eagles Past Moravian

Video Box Score

HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata men's basketball team blitzed visiting Moravian, 93-50, as they never trailed in their Landmark Conference opener Saturday afternoon inside Memorial Gymnasium. 

Evan Eisenhart (York, Pa. / Central York H.S.) helped get JC on the board first by drawing two defenders along the baseline before firing a pass to Chase Husted (DuBois, Pa. / DuBois Area HS), who laid the ball off the glass. Nick Rigby (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon H.S.) scored on a left-handed flip shot to make it 4-0. Husted and Eisenhart switched roles, with Husted swinging the ball to the sophomore guard out of York. Pa., who drilled a deep three from the left-wing.  

The Greyhounds found their first points of the game two and half minutes in on a pull-up jumper from the right elbow. The Eagle onslaught continued as Husted scored inside on a hook shot and Eisenhart hit another triple, this one from the right-wing to make it 12-2. The Greyhounds called a 30-second timeout but to no avail. Following another Moravian miss, Eisenhart pushed the ball up the floor. A smooth left-to-right crossover got him past the first defender, and he finished through two more at the rim to make it 14-2.  

A few possessions later, John Kelly (Philadelphia, Pa. / Roman Catholic High School) scored off a slick no-look bounce pass from Kohl Bernarding (Cochranton, Pa. / Cochranton H.S.), which seemed to ignite the Eagle bench. Ross Conway (Lancaster, Pa. / Lancaster Catholic HS) scored on a layup off a Kyle Ruggery (Duncansville, PA / Bishop Guilfoyle HS) assist, Tyler Lapetina (Collegeville, Pa. / Perkiomen Valley HS) splashed a three and followed with a layup in transition to make it 25-7. 

Juniata continued to lock up the Greyhounds, not allowing them to break double digits until there was a little under nine minutes to go in the half. 

Juniata led 47-18 at the half.  

JC cruised through the second half, never allowing the lead to shrink under 20 and leading by as many as 45 on their way to a 93-50 win.   

The Eagles held the visitors to 32.8% shooting from the floor and 11.5% shooting from three while shooting 51.2% from the floor and 35.7% from three themselves. Juniata scored 22 points off 18 Greyhound turnovers while taking care of the ball themselves, only turning it over six times. The hosts got 39 points off the bench and handed out 27 assists, the most since 2017-18.

Juniata will host St. Vincent this Tuesday at 7:00.