Eagles' Defense Stifles Waynesburg, Clinches ECAC Quarterfinals Spot
HUNTINGDON, Pa.- Juniata's men's basketball team won their opening round ECAC contest on Wednesday night inside Memorial Gym, playing suffocating defense enroute to a 55-45 victory over Waynesburg. The victory earns Juniata a quarterfinal round matchup with #2 seed Rutgers-Newark on Friday, March 5th.
The Eagles started the game hot, jumping out to an 8-2 lead courtesy of back-to-back threes from Evan Eisenhart (York, Pa. / Central York) and Kyle Ruggery (Duncansville, Pa. / Bishop Guilfoyle), and a Chase Husted (DuBois, Pa. / DuBois Area) layup. Offensive struggles for both teams would ultimately keep the score low for much of the first half, before a 7-2 scoring run for the Eagles would put them up 24-17 going into halftime.
Consistent scoring from Husted and Nick Rigby (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon) would carry the offense in the second half, pushing the Eagles' advantage to as many as 19 points. Husted would finish the game with 12 points, six rebounds, two blocks, and an assist. Rigby led the team in scoring with 15 points, adding four rebounds, three steals, and an assist. Kohl Bernarding (Cochranton, Pa. / Cochranton) tied Husted's rebounding mark to top the team, while Eisenhart's four assists were also a game high.
Juniata's defensive prowess was on full display as they forced Waynesburg into 18 turnovers while also holding them to a lowly 3 of 14 team performance from beyond the arc. The Yellow Jackets' 45-point total is the lowest Juniata has allowed in a game all season.
The Eagles will now turn their attention to their quarterfinal matchup, with Rutgers-Newark being the hosts for the remainder of the tournament games, concluding with the final on Sunday, March 6th at 1:00 PM.