Juniata College 67, Penn State Mont Alto 43

Caleb Eckert scored a team-high 15 points and Nathan Osei added 13 as Penn State Mont Alto dropped the opening contest of the Juniata College Holiday Tournament. The Nittany Lions were unable to overcome a 35-25 halftime deficit as they shot 6 for 26 in the second half, scoring only 18 points. Chase Husted led the Eagles with 13 points and Mason Hardy had 12. 

A Mason Hardy three-point basket forced a quick thirty second timeout by Mont Alto after the Eagles jumped out to a quick 10-3 lead. Caleb Eckert made a three-point basket to trim the lead to 17-12 at the midway point of the first half. A 4-0 run by Anthony Davis late in the first half saw Mont Alto down just 26-23 with 6:08 remaining in the opening half. 

The Eagles would go on a 9-2 run to end the half and take a 35-25 lead into the half. Osei led Mont Alto in scoring in the first half with eight. Eckert (7) and Davis (6) rounded out the leading scorers for the visitors at the half. Mont Alto shot 32% (9-28) in the first half. Hardy (12) and Husted (11) paced Juniata in the first twenty minutes in scoing as they went 11-22 (50%) from the field. 

Mont Alto shot 6 for 26 (23%) in the second half and the Eagles shot 38% (12-31) as both team combined for just 50 points in the second half. Kyle Ruggery led the way for Juniata as he had seven second half points off the bench. Evan Eisenhart and Nick Rigby each chipped in six points.

Caleb Eckert scored eight points in the second half for Penn State Mont Alto in 18 minutes of play. Nathan Osei also played 18 second-half minutes, scoring five points on 1 of 6 shooting.

Up Next: Penn State Mont Alto will take on Buffalo State on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. in the consolation game of the Juniata College Holiday Tournament.