Eagles Come Up Short in ECAC Quarterfinals

NEWARK, N.J.- The Juniata men's basketball team gave a valiant effort against #2 seed Rutgers-Newark in the ECAC Division III tournament quarterfinal, but ultimately came up short, falling 62-49 and seeing their 2021-22 campaign draw to a close.

While the Eagles were never able to take the lead at any point during the game, they brought it close at multiple points, twice cutting the deficit to one point in the first half alone. The scoring started slowly for both teams, with the first buckets not falling for either team until nearly three minutes into the half. The pace would slowly pick up from there, with the teams trading short scoring runs for the rest of the half before arriving at halftime with Rutgers-Newark leading 23-20. Mason Hardy (Gaithersburg, Md. / Our Lady of Good Counsel) provided a scoring spark for Juniata throughout the game, particularly in that first half. He would finish the game with 12 points, three rebounds, an assist, and a steal, while scoring some of the Eagles' crucial buckets, including both scores that brought them within one in the first half, and the final basket of the game.

After a quiet first half, Evan Eisenhart (York, Pa. / Central York) turned in a stellar second-half performance that ultimately saw him finish the game as Juniata's leading scorer with 14 points. He managed to claw the Eagles back into the game after they had fallen behind by double-digits midway through the second half, draining three consecutive shots from behind the arc and bringing the gap back down to six.

A two-minute scoring draught from Rutgers-Newark and a couple timely threes from Eisenhart and Kyle Ruggery (Duncansville, Pa. / Bishop Guilfoyle) made it 51-47 with 3:12 remaining, but the well went dry for Juniata after that and shot misses combined with some costly late-game turnovers meant that the game would finish out of their reach.

The Eagles finish the season with an overall record of 16-12 and 8-6 in the Landmark Conference. After a semifinal appearance in the Landmark Conference playoffs and their ECAC quarterfinals appearance, they'll carry high expectations into next season, with all five starters slated to return to the roster, along with 14 other players who will bring experience to next season's team.