Gophers Go Cold in Second Half, Bow to Eagles

Yambor, Cotton Share Scoring Honors with 12 Points Apiece

TOWSON, Md. — After leading virtually the entire first half – by as many as eight points on one occasion – Goucher struggled from the field over the final 20 minutes and wound up losing to Juniata, 67-54, this evening in the Decker Sports & Recreation Center.

With the win, the Eagles remained in a tie with Scranton for first place in the Landmark Conference.

The Gophers (3-11, 0-4 Landmark) began the second half with a 30-28 advantage, but went without a field goal for the first 5:21 of the period before Richard Harris (Clinton, Md./Surrattsville) knocked down a shot from 3-point range. Just over a minute later, the Eagles (12-3, 4-0 Landmark) went ahead to stay on a jumper by Kevin Stapleton that made the score 41-40 with 13:31 remaining.

Juniata stretched its lead to double digits for the first time on a jumper by Lucas Mellott with 2:21 left to play that capped a run of seven unanswered points and left head coach Leonard Trevino's squad trailing 62-51.

The Gophers were 6-for-32 from the field (.188) in the second half. For the game, they were 3-for-19 (.158) on 3-point tries.

Shane Yambor (Burtonsville, Md./Paint Branch) and Marcus Cotton (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) shared scoring honors for Goucher with 12 points apiece. Trae Lindsay (Baltimore, Md./Patapsco) pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds, helping the Gophers to a narrow 49-48 edge on the boards.

Dan Sekulski and Alex Raymond both furnished the Eagles with 10 points and Brian Schooly was credited with a game-high 13 rebounds.

With the victory, Juniata reduced Goucher's lead in the all-time series between the two schools to 5-4.