Three Score in Double-Figures, as Men's Basketball Falls Short at Juniata in Landmark Match-up

Box Score

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - The Goucher College men's basketball team (0-13, Landmark 0-3) faced off against Landmark Conference opponent Juniata (13-1, 2-1 Landmark) Wednesday evening at Memorial Gym and the host Eagles pulled out a 64-53 victory over the Gophers.

Both teams went back and forth during the first 13 minutes of play, resulting with Juniata in the lead, 11-10, with 6:31 remaining in the first half.

The Eagles, however, then went on 12-0 over the next four minutes to open a 23-10 lead over the Gophers with three minutes left in the first half. Goucher did end the first half on a 6-2 spurt, as they trailed by just nine points (25-16) at the half.

After a defensive-minded first half, Juniata quickly extended their lead out to double-digits to open the second half, taking a 45-31 lead with 11 minutes to go in regulation.

Here, Goucher went on an 11-3 run over the next three minutes that sliced the Juniata lead down to 48-42 with eight minutes left. The run was punctuated by three by senior Elliott Wiley (Baltimore, Md.).

But, this was the closest Goucher came to the Juniata lead the rest of the game, as the Eagles went on a back-breaking 8-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to open an insurmountable 56-42 lead with five minutes left. The deficit was too much for the Gophers to come back from on the night, as the Eagles pulled away for the 11-point victory. 

Overall on the night for the Gophers, three players scored in double-figures, led by Wiley, who posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The double-double was Wiley's second of the year, as he has now scored in double-figures in all five games he has played in since returning to the Goucher line-up in late December.

Elsewhere, first-year forward Jacob Smith (Callaway, Va.) ended the night with 13 points and seven rebounds, while junior Gabe Ceribelli (Monkton, Md.) came off the bench to score 11 points.

For Juniata on the evening, forward Marcus Lee led the team with 18 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal.

The Gophers travel to Scranton Saturday for another Landmark Conference match-up. Tip-off is at 2 pm.

--GOPHERS--