(Posted December 5, 2005)

Grove City 63, Juniata 60

Grove City, Pa. ? Despite a quick start and a late surge, the Juniata College men?s basketball team was unable to pull out a non-conference road victory as the Eagles fell to Grove City 63-60 Monday night. Juniata is now 5-3 on the year, while the home team improved to 2-3.

Trailing by 12 points mid-way through the second half, the Eagles quickly cut into the lead with a 10-0 run. Aaron Chamberlain (Tussey Mountain/Wood) and Kyle Opitz (Pine-Richland/Gibsonia) both nailed threes during the stretch that pulled Juniata to within a basket with 7:56 remaining in the game.

Grove City responded quickly pushing the lead back up to seven. The advantage was still seven when a Nick Hager (Franklin/Franklin) triple cut the lead to 62-58 with 2:48 left. The teams traded turnovers before Chamberlain was fouled after a steal, and knocked in both free throws, cutting the lead to 62-60 with 54 seconds left. Juniata?s defense forced another turnover on Grove City?s next possession, but the Eagles? three-point attempt with nine seconds remaining was no good. Matt Phillips converted one of two free throws, extending the lead to three with six seconds remaining, and Juniata?s last-second attempt to send the game to overtime was no good.

Travis Boyd (Juniata Valley/Barree) led Juniata with 12 points in the game.

The Eagles controlled play inside, outscoring the home team 22-14 in the paint. But the Wolverines countered by shooting 56 percent from three-point range. Shawn Carr had a career-high 25 points for the home team, as he knocked down four three pointers in the game. The home team was also 16-of-18 from the foul line, while the Eagles were 7-of-12.

Juniata got off to a quick start using early threes from Boyd and Hager and a pair of baskets from Brian Cannon (Fallston/Fallston, Md.) to take a quick 16-5 edge. Juniata then went cold from the field as Grove City mounted a 17-0 run to pull in front 22-16 with 7:50 left in the first half. The Eagles got no closer than two points the rest of the half, and the home team extended the lead into double digits early in the second stanza, before the Eagles? staged their rally.

Chamberlain finished with eight points for the Eagles, while Cannon and Hager each added seven. Hager also had a team-high five rebounds, while Tommy McConnell (Bishop Guilfoyle/Hollidaysburg) passed out a game-high four assists.

Carr was the only Wolverine in double figures, though Mark Smith contributed eight points. Daniel Zacour led all players with eight rebounds and John Scheller was tops on the team with three assists.

Juniata takes on another non-conference foe on Wednesday as the Eagles host Division II Indiana University (Pa.).

JUNIATA (60): Boyd 4 2-2 12, Cannon 3 1-4 7, Jasiota 1 1-2 3, McConnell 2 0-0 4, Hager 2 1-2 7, Byer 3 0-0 6, Ferko 3 0-0 6, Opitz 2 0-0 5, Chamberlain 2 2-2 8, Holloway 1 0-0 2. Totals ? 23 7-12 60.

GROVE CITY (63Smith 3 0-0 8, Cotherman 3 0-0 6, Phillips 1 4-5 6, Carr 7 7-7 25, Gerber 2 0-0 6, Capotosta 1 0-0 3, Gibson 0 2-2 2, Scheller 0 0-0 0, Hallman 1 0-0 2, Zacour 1 3-4 5. Totals ? 19 16-18 63.

Halftime: Grove City 32-26. 3-point goals: Juniata 7 (Npus 2, Hager, 2, Chamberlain 2, Opitz); Grove City 9 (Carr 4, Smith 2, Gerber 2, Capotosta). Assists: Juniata 11 (McConnell 4); Grove City 11 (Scheller 3). Rebounds: Juniata 23 (Hager 5); Grove City 29 (Zacour 8).


Records: Juniata (5-3); Grove City (2-3).

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