The game was played at a high pace at the start as Juniata’s Brian Cannon started the game on fire. Cannon scored the first nine points of the game for the Eagles as he hit a jumper, a three, a lay up and another jumper as he was a one-man wrecking crew for the Eagles. Fortunately for York, the Spartans were able to keep pace as they led 10-9 after Cannon’s jumper with 16:08 left in the first half. The Spartans built the lead to six at 19-13 but Juniata responded with a 13-5 run that turned their deficit into a 26-24 lead with 9:08 left in the opening stanza. There were four ties over the next three minutes before the Spartans went on an 11-2 run to take a 43-34 lead at the 2:28 mark. The run was fueled by Chad McGowan, Kenny Fass, and Nate Fry. McGowan had had five points while Fass and Fry each hit a triple during the run. Undaunted, the Eagles scored seven of the final nine points of the stanza, trimming their halftime deficit to 45-41. Cannon led all scorers with 11 first half points while Brian Singer led the Spartans with 10 markers of his own.
The second half saw the Eagles jump out and regain the lead before York bounced back to take a three point advantage on a Brandon Bushey jumper. The Eagles took their final lead on a Neil Holloway jumper with 11:46 remaining in the game. The green and white answered Holloway’s jumper with consecutive lay ups from Paddy Lee and Fass. York maintained the lead until the Eagles tied the game at 60 with 7:07 left. Lee responded with a three pointer and a steal and a lay up to put the Spartans up five. Juniata trimmed the lead to two on a Cannon lay up with 4:11 left but Fry canned a huge three to give York the five point edge. The Spartans could have closed out the game earlier than they did but York missed four consecutive free throws between 1:22 and 0:46. The green and white recovered to convert their final eight attempts as McGowan and Bushey each canned four tosses from the charity stripe over the last 36 seconds of the game.
York was paced by McGowan as the sophomore tossed in 19 points while he also had four rebounds, four blocks, and two assists. Bushey added 17 points , four rebounds, and three assists as he has been very good in the Spartans’ last three games. Bushey was 5-for-10 from the floor including 3-for-6 from three while he converted all four of his free throw attempts. Singer was the third Spartan in double figures with 13 points, a game-high eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Fass and Lee each added nine points and five rebounds. Lee also had two steals, two blocks, and two assists.
Cannon finished the game with 16 points as York held him to just five second half points after his fast start. Brent Ferko picked up 13 points and six rebounds for the Eagles while Travis Boyd and Holloway each contributed 12 points to the Juniata offense. Boyd pulled down a team-high seven boards. Point guard Tommy McConnell dished out a game high six assists while he also had eight points, two steals, and two rebounds.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 50.9% from the floor including 40% from three. York held the Eagles to 38.6% from the field including 31.6% from distance. Juniata was more accurate from the line as they nailed 73.7% (14-19) of their attempts from the stripe while York was 64% (16-25) including just 55% (11-20) in the second half.
York out rebounded the Eagles 41-34 while the Spartans also blocked a season-high eight shots. York also held a significant 24-14 edge in points in the paint.
The Spartans return to action on December 29 when they host Mt. Union in the opening round of the White Rose City Classic. The Spartans and Purple Raiders tip off in the opening round of the tournament at 6:00 pm followed by the second semifinal, Ursinus against Whitman (CA) at 8:00 pm.
York (Pa.) vs Juniata 12/12/05 7:30 pm at Huntingdon, PA (Memorial Gym) At Huntingdon, PA (Memorial Gym) YORK (PA.) 82, JUNIATA 74 YORK (PA.) (6-1) Chad McGowan 6-15 6-7 19; Brandon Bushey 5-10 4-4 17; Brian Singer 5-7 3-4 13; Kenny Fass 4-7 0-2 9; Paddy Lee 4-4 0-0 9; Nate Fry 2-5 0-1 6; Brad Zerfing 1-3 3-7 5; Quinn Howard 2-3 0-0 4; Joe Yeck 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 29-57 16-25 82. JUNIATA (5-5) Brian Cannon 6-16 3-6 16; Brent Ferko 6-7 0-0 13; Travis Boyd 4-10 2-2 12; Neil Holloway 4-9 4-4 12; Tommy McConnell 2-9 4-4 8; Chris Jasiota 3-8 0-2 6; Aaron Chamberlain 1-3 1-1 4; Nick Hager 1-6 0-0 3; Kyle Opitz 0-1 0-0 0; Jeff Byer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-70 14-19 74. York (Pa.).................... 45 37 - 82 Juniata....................... 41 33 - 74 3-point goals-York (Pa.) 8-20 (Brandon Bushey 3-6; Nate Fry 2-5; Chad McGowan 1-4; Kenny Fass 1-2; Paddy Lee 1-1; Joe Yeck 0-1; Brad Zerfing 0-1), Juniata 6-19 (Travis Boyd 2-4; Brent Ferko 1-1; Nick Hager 1-6; Brian Cannon 1-4; Aaron Chamberlain 1-3; Tommy McConnell 0-1). Fouled out--York (Pa.)-None, Juniata-Chris Jasiota. Rebounds-York (Pa.) 41 (Brian Singer 8), Juniata 34 (Travis Boyd 7). Assists-York (Pa.) 14 (Brandon Bushey 3), Juniata 17 (Tommy McConnell 6). Total fouls-York (Pa.) 19, Juniata 20. A-300 The Spartans rebound from Saturday's loss with a win over Juniata. York is now off until December 29 when they host Mt. Union in the opening round of the White Rose City Classic. Game time at Wolf Gym is set for 6:00 pm. ------------------------------------------------------------------------