By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net
MADISON, N.J. – On the final day of the regular season, the Juniata College men's basketball team earned a blowout win, 72-50, over Drew University. Senior Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College) led the Eagles (15-10, 6-8 Landmark) with a game-high 17 points and a game-high seven rebounds on a day when Juniata led from the first point to the last. Senior Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W. Va./John Marshall) notched 16 points and game-highs in assists with five and steals with four.
"It was a complete team effort from start to finish and I thought it was our most complete game," said head coach Greg Curley. "That's what you want to do. You want to get better as the season progresses. We talked about being the best team we possibly could and I thought we really played our best tonight. That's reaching a goal for us and we're proud of that."
Juniata scored the first four points of the game and grabbed the early 10-5 advantage. Hays snatched a steal and converted the fast break for the 12-6 lead followed quickly by a steal from sophomore Justin Fleming (Doswell, Va./Benedictine College Prep.) and the 14-6 Eagle lead. Fleming totaled nine points to lead the Juniata bench and went 4-6 from the floor in 21 minutes played.
At the 12-minute mark, freshman Dennis Fisher (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle Area) gave Juniata a 10-point lead at 16-6 with a clean jump shot. The Rangers clawed back to within two with just over six minutes of action remaining before senior Kevin Stapleton (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) put in a tough layup, Hays made a steal and basket, and Scholly came down with the rebound on the other end before sinking a trey, to put Juniata on top by nine at 30-21. Stapleton put in 10 points and pulled down six rebounds on the day.
Yet another three from Scholly gave Juniata the 33-22 lead inside of three minutes remaining in the half. Senior Dimitri Ross (Petersburg, Va./Appomattox Regional Governor's School) put back a layup after a big Ranger block for the 37-24 Eagle lead with just 30 seconds remaining. Scholly's pump-fake layup notched the forward's 11th point of the half for the halftime lead 39-24 lead. The Eagles shot 55% from the floor in the first half, forced eight Drew turnovers in the first 20 minutes, and out rebounded the Rangers 17-11 only allowing Drew one offensive rebound, three total in the entire game.
Right out of the halftime break, senior Lucas Mellott (Warfordsburg, Pa./Southern Fulton) grabbed a steal and Scholly sunk a jumper. Mellott went 2-2 from the free-throw line adding six points for the Eagles. Hays notched his fourth steal of the night, followed by a clean layup, and a fall away jumper by Scholly for the 21-point Juniata lead. The Eagles held Drew scoreless for the first five minutes of the game and outscored the Rangers 11-2.
With three quarters of the game gone, Juniata held onto a 57-36 lead after a layup inside by senior Pat Cassidy (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) from a great pass between defenders by Scholly. With five minutes left, the Juniata bench called a time out with a 63-42 lead. Forward Nate Ogle (Falls Church, Va./George Mason) notched his sixth point of the second half to stretch the Eagles lead to 68-45 with 3:30 on the clock.
"I can't begin to say what these seniors have meant to this program," said Curley. "A number of our guys were extremely sick before the Susquehanna game and before today's game. That shows you their toughness and the kind of players they are for us. I couldn't be happier for them to finish their regular season play careers the way they did."
Juniata cruised through the final three minutes, finishing with the 72-50 win. The Eagles will wait to see if they qualify for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South region tournament.
"Now we're going to keep practicing," said Curley. "If we're fortunate enough to get into ECAC's we're going continue to try to get better here this next week and see what we can do to go after another championship."
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