Mens' basketball jumps out to early lead, cruises to 78-57 finish
(Posted November 30, 2009)
HUNTINGDON, Pa. â?" The Juniata College mens' basketball team used a 20-0 run midway through the first half as a spring board to a 78-57 victory over visiting Penn State University Wilkes-Barre, Monday evening in the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.
The start of the run came when the Eagles were leading by two, 13-11, with 13:30 remaining in the half. Juniata (4-2) rattled off the next 20 points to distance themselves from the Lions, ending with two made free-throws by sophomore Dan Sekulski (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone Area) with 7:07 showing on the clock.
The halftime lead continued to be 22 at 46-24 for the Eagles as Lion's guard John Sanderson hit a twelve-foot jumper as the buzzer sounded.
The lead grew to as man as 29 on several occasions in the second half for Juniata, the last coming when sophomore Mike McCarry (Ambler, Pa./Upper Dublin) made a layup with 6:52 to go in the game.
Pacing the Eagles' offense was senior guard Jeff Berkey (Stoystown, Pa./Shanksville-Stonycreek) who recorded 18 points on 6-15 shooting. He was 3-8 of from behind the three-point arc as well as 3-3 from the free-throw line.
Rookie Mike Walker (Homer City, Pa./Homer Center) was the only other Eagle in double-digits with 10. He shot 2-5 from three-point territory and 3-6 overall. He was also perfect at the line as he went 2-2.
Sophomore forward Matt Regan (Downingtown, Pa./Devon Prep) grabbed six rebounds to lead the team. He also contributed four points, two assists, one block, and a steal in 16 minutes.
Leading Penn State Wilkes-Barre (0-3) was John Sanderson who finished with a game high 18 points. Closely following him was teammate Shawn Washington with 17 points in 20 minutes of action. Frank Peters collected 14 boards to lead the team.
The Eagles' bench outscored the Lions' bench 34-8 throughout the course of the game.
Juniata returns to the hardwood on Wednesday, Dec. 2, when they welcome the Tartans of Carnegie Mellon to the Kennedy S+RC. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.