(Posted November 13, 2007)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - Juniata College has been picked to finish fourth in the Landmark Conference\'s preseason men\'s basketball poll, as voted on by the league\'s coaches and sports information directors and released Tuesday. Juniata tallied 61 points in the poll, while the University of Scranton was picked as the preseason favorite with 84 points. Susquehanna University was picked second with 73 points, while Catholic University was third with 65 points. Trailing Juniata in the poll was Moravian College in fifth place with 51 points. The United States Merchant Marine Academy and Drew University were tied for sixth place with 36 points each, while Goucher finished last in the voting with 14 points. The Eagles return one starter and 10 letterwinners from a 2006-07 squad that set a program record with 17 wins. Among Juniata\'s top returnees for 2007-08 are senior F Brian Cannon (Fallston, Md./Fallston) with 14.5 ppg and 6.6 rpg; while Cannon did not start a single game last season, he led the team in scoring and was fifth in total minutes played. Senior G Kyle Opitz (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland) averaged 9.0 points and 2.3 boards per game in 2006-07. Juniata opens its 2007-08 campaign this weekend at the 2007 Mutual Benefit Group \"Doc\" Greene Tournament. Juniata will face Lancaster Bible College on Friday at 8:00 p.m., while Washington & Jefferson will battle Penn State-DuBois in the tourney opener at 6:00 p.m. In Saturday\'s games, the consolation game will take place at 2:00 p.m. with the championship tipping-off at 4:00 p.m. LANDMARK CONFERENCE 2007-08 PRESEASON MEN\'S BASKETBALL POLL 1. University of Scranton - 84 pts. 2. Susquehanna University - 73 pts. 3. Catholic University - 65 pts. 4. Juniata College - 61 pts. 5. Moravian College - 51 pts. 6. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy- 36 pts. Drew University - 36 pts. 8. Goucher College - 14 pts. -30-

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.