(Posted November 21, 2004)

Muskingum 72, Juniata 53

Huntingdon, Pa. ? An explosive second-half offensive surge by visiting Muskingum College was too much for the Juniata College men?s basketball team to overcome as the Eagles fell to Muskingum 72-53 in the Championship Game of the 2004 Mutual Benefit Group ?Doc? Greene Tip-off Tournament in Huntingdon Sunday afternoon.

Tournament most valuable player Zach Ross of Muskingum scored 17 points and added six rebounds to lead his team to the victory. Jeff Smallwood and Roy Skidmore joined their teammate on the All-Tournament team. Juniata?s Neil Holloway (Tussey Mountain/Saxton) was the Juniata representative on the team, with Daryl Moore of Thiel and Dan Gibney of Penn State Berks-Lehigh Valley rounding out the team.

Juniata played the visitors even through the first 10 minutes of the game. A basket from Chris Jasiota (Oil City/Oil City) gave the Eagles a 10-9 lead with 10:41 remaining in the first half. But the Muskies then outscored Juniata 20-6 over the remainder of the first half to take a 72-53 lead into the locker room.
Juniata struggled from the field in the first 20 minutes, shooting just 8-for-28 from the field and 0-for-9 from three-point range.

The Eagles? shooting picked up in the second half as they poured in 37 points while shooting 42-percent from the field. But Muskingum was also hot from the field as they shot 55-percent and scored 43 points in the final 20 minutes.

A three pointer from Travis Boyd (Juniata Valley/Barree) and bucket from Jasiota twice cut the lead to 10 early in the second half, but that was as close as it got the rest of the way.

Holloway scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Juniata. Jasiota also had 13 points and six boards, while Boyd chipped in 11. Nick Hager (Franklin/Franklin) added four assists for Juniata.

Ross led all players with his 17 points while also passing out three assists. Skidmore added 15 for Muskingum with Smallwood also in double figures with 10. Cole Pittis had a team-high four assists, while Cliff Sprang grabbed nine rebounds to lead the team.
Juniata will return to action Tuesday night when the Eagles host Bridgewater College (Va.).

JUNIATA (53): Jasiota 6 1-3 13, Opitz 1 3-3 5, Boyd 4 1-2 11, Holloway 6 1-2 13, Hager 1 0-0 2, Ferko 1 0-0 2, Chamberlain 1 0-0 2, Price 1 0-0 3, McConnell 0 0-0 0, Bull 1 0-0 2, Cannon 0 0-0 0. Totals ? 22 6-10 53

MUSKINGUM (72): Smallwood 3 3-5 10, Ross 5 3-4 17, Dansby 1 0-0 2, Sprang 3 0-0 6, Pittis 2 0-0 4, Price 0 0-0 0, Ady 1-2 1-1 3, Schrock 0 1-2 1, DeCrange 0 1-2 1, Glass 1 0-0 2, Shy 1 0-0 2, Turson 3 1-3 9, Skidmore 6 1-2 15. Totals ? 26 11-19 72

Halftime: Muskingum 29-16. 3-point goals: Juniata 3 (Boyd 2, Price); Muskingum 9 (Ross 4, Turson 2, Skidmore 2, Smallwood). Assists: Juniata 8 (Hager 4); Muskingum 16 (Pittis 4). Rebounds: Juniata 34 (Holloway, Jasiota 6); Muskingum 36 (Sprang 9).

Records: Juniata (1-1), Muskingum (2-0).

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