Bearcats Bruise Eagles in OT in Season Opener

LATROBE, Pa.- The Juniata men's basketball team tipped off their season at St Vincent, where they came up on the wrong end of an overtime loss, 73-67, Thursday evening. 

Chase Husted scored the first bucket of the season off a pass from Mason Hardy. The teams traded buckets, with Kyle Ruggery finding Nick Rigby for a jumper before Rigby stole the ball and laid it up on the other end. A few minutes later, a Ross Conway triple made it 11-7. He proceeded to score on a layup and drill another three. 

Kohl Bernarding found Michael Montecalvo for a layup and a three on back-to-back possessions to make it 21-15 with ten and half minutes to go in the half. A Husted dunk followed by a Mason Hardy jumper and a Gabe Guidinger layup saw JC continue to extend their lead. Hardy converted a pair of foul shots, and Guidinger rejected a shot on one end of the floor and scored inside on the other. A Bearcat triple broke the near seven-minute scoreless drought as the Eagle defense suffocated the home team. 

A three in the final 25 seconds brought St Vincent within 11, but Rigby's layup at the buzzer made it 39-26 as JC headed into the locker room with a 13-point lead. 

Juniata led by as many as 18 in the second half, but the Bearcats methodically worked their way back. With seven and a half minutes to go in the game, they pulled even at 56-56. 

The Bearcats made a foul shot, Hardy drove inside and wrapped a pass around a defender to Husted, who laid it in. After a stop, Husted kicked it out to Conway, who splashed his third three of the game to put JC up 61-57 with two and a half to go. Two layups, with the second with fifty seconds remaining in the game, made it 61 all. Ruggery converted a floater in the paint to give Juniata the lead in the final 24 seconds, but a Bearcat tough layup at the buzzer kissed off the glass and in to send the game to OT. 

A tightly contested OT saw the hosts score the first three points prior to a layup from Guidinger, which pulled JC back within one. The teams traded fruitless possessions before another Bearcat layup. Rigby got deep in the paint and finished at the rim to bring the deficit back within two with 45 to play, but the Bearcats made a three on the other end, and the Eagles would not score the rest of the way. 

Juniata shot better from the field, 52.7%- 45.0%, and had more assists, 14-4, but the Bearcats held a 39-30 edge in rebounds and a 20-8 advantage in second-chance points. 

Juniata will play at Penn College Monday at 5:00.