Men's Basketball Falls to Golden Wolves in ECAC Quarterfinals

HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata men's basketball team dropped a 69-58 game to visiting Alvernia in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Quarterfinals Wednesday evening inside Memorial Gymnasium. 

The Golden Wolves opened the game on a 7-0 run, with a Chase Husted jumper from above the foul line off an assist from Tyler Lapetina opening scoring for the Eagles. The Golden Wolves scored off inside again on a layup, and Mason Hardy answered with a bucket in the paint of his own after bumping his defender aside down low off a pass from Husted. Three straight layups from Husted, the final one off a pass from Lapetina, brought the Eagles within one at 11-10 with six minutes gone. 

Kaden Claar hit a pullup jumper from the left elbow, and Jackson Byer got past his man and laid it off the glass when it appeared he had no angle to give Juniata their first lead of the game, 14-13. The Golden Wolves scored inside, and Kyle Ruggery found Nick Rigby cutting inside for a layup. 

The teams continued to trade makes, with Gabe Guidinger finding Ruggery in the left corner for a three that put the Eagles up, 30-28, with three and a half to go in the first. The Golden Wolves scored four of the final five points of the half, with Byer's foul shot the lone Eagle point as Juniata trailed 34-31 at the break. 

The second half saw the Eagles nipping at the heels of the Golden Wolves for the first eleven minutes of the half as they couldn't pull even until Elijah Kioko collected an offensive rebound, lofted the putback over his defender, and in to push JC ahead, 48-47. 

Alvernia retook the lead on the next possession via a three and Juniata was down by two again. The visitors pushed their advantage to as many as eight, but the Eagles quickly responded. Rigby swished a three, Husted scored inside, and Lapetina drilled a wide-open three from the top of the key to make it 58, all with a smidge under five to go in the game. 

Alvernia closed the game on an 11-0 run, making foul shots down the stretch to push the final margin. 

Juniata finishes the year at 17-11.