Greyhounds Hold Off Eagles

Bethlehem, Pa.- The Juniata men's basketball team had their comeback come up just short at Moravian University, 87-81, Saturday afternoon inside Johnston Hall. 

Ty Kocak led the way with 23 points, five assists, four rebounds, and a steal, while Joe Bruce totaled 13 points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Malcolm Griffith had 12 points, three rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Jaiden Aze contributed 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench. William Littles Jr. had eight points and a steal while Tre Yawn tallied two points, five rebounds, and four assists. Jayden Bilger had eight points, six rebounds, an assist, and a block, while Noah Bailey had five points, four rebounds, and an assist. 

Bruce found Griffith for a layup, and Kocak scored inside to open the scoring for the Eagles. A foul shot and a three-pointer for the Greyhounds made it 4-4 two minutes in. 

It was a highly competitive first half that saw the teams close for most of the way, with an Aze jumper bringing JC back within four, 31-27, with just under three to play. 

JC went into the locker room down six, 36-30. 

Moravian came flying out to start the second half, as the deficit grew to 23 with just under 13 minutes to go in the game. 

JC got to work, chipping away at the lead and getting it down to nine on a Kocak layup with three to go. 

Kocak's foul shots got it down to four with 20 seconds to go, but the Greyhounds made their foul shots to close out the game. 

Juniata had a 41-37 advantage in rebounds and a 19-16 edge in second-chance points. 

The Eagles will travel to take on Lycoming on Wednesday at 7:00.