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MIFFLINTOWN -- The Juniata Indians had to wait their turn for all the thrills of a county boys basketball matchup against rival East Juniata, but it was worth the wait.
For three quarters, Saturday night's contest was close one as both the Indians and Tigers exchanged scoring runs. Eventually, veteran-laden Juniata squad found the hot hand late to take a 66-43 Tri-Valley League victory.
"We're coming along and we're growing. That means we are going to spread the scoring out," Juniata head coach Al Ream said. "We are spreading out today and as a result we got a good win."
Leading the offense for the Indians was Jasper Shepps, who posted a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Brian Kuhn followed with an 18-point effort thanks to three three-pointers, and Ricky Guante added 10.
East Juniata's Wrett Smith paced the Tigers with a team-high 20-point night, while teammate Sam Kopacki followed with 15.
In the first quarter, Juniata got the scoring started with a jumper in the lane by Shepps on its first possession. After forcing a turnover on the next possession, the Indians got back on the scoreboard on a Shepps' offensive board and put-back.
East Juniata's worked the ball into Smith on the next possession, putting the Tigers in the scorebook for the first time, 4-2 with 4:12 left in the first. The Indians followed with a 6-0 mini run, thanks to consecutive triples by Kuhn.
Despite the Tigers' timeout, the Indians continued its scoring. On its first touch following the time out, Shepps was fouled going up for a shot, sending him to the free throw line. He was a perfect 2-for-2 upping their lead to 10.
East Juniata started to bounce back as Kopacki hit two shots from the charity stripe. After a Juniata basket by Nick Reed, Nathan Carolus posted a triple, cutting the Juniata lead to seven.
Kuhn upped the lead back on the Indians following possession, catching a backdoor pass and lay in. Smith got back in the scoring action with 35 ticks left on the first period clock, posting a runner in the lane. The Indians took a 17-11 lead going into the second quarter.
"We got ourselves in a hole. We got down early. We struggled to get back in it. It didn't seem like we could get over that jump," East Juniata coach Tyler Erherd said. "I felt like didn't work together as a team as we needed to tonight to beat a good team like this and it showed in the end."
In the second, East Juniata cut the lead to four on a long two by Silas Strickhouser on the quarter's first bucket. The Indians answered with a 4-0 run, making it a 21-13 contest.
Back came the Tigers as Smith took the ball straight to the hoop and was fouled on the play. The bucket and the free throw were solid, cutting the lead to only five. But Juniata simmered offensively, outscoring the Tigers 12-8 to went into the intermission leading, 33-22.
The second half belonged to the Indians as they held things together and outscored the Tigers 33-21 to take the first meeting of the year between the two teams, 66-43.
Juniata 66, East Juniata 43
EJ 11 11 12 9 – 43
JUN 17 16 15 18 – 66
Scoring: EJ – Jaiden May 1 0-4 2, Sam Kopacki 4 6-9 15, Mayer Ramsey 0 1-2 1, Nathan Carolus 1 0-2 3, Silas Strickhouser 1 0-0 2, Josh Dubiel 1 0-0 3, Wrett Smith 9 1-1 20. Totals 16 8-18 43 . JUN – Drew Geedey 2 0-0 4, Jaden Nealman 1 0-0 2, Nick Reed 3 1-2 7, Zan Hackenburg 1 0-0 3, Jasper Shepps 9 3-4 22, Ricky Guante 3 3-4 10, Brian Kuhn 7 1-2 18. Totals 26 8-12 66.
Played but didn't score: EJ – Eric Nipple 0 0-0 0. JUN – Josh Nace 0 0-0 0. .
Three-Point shots: EJ – Wrett Smith. JUN – Kuhn 3, Guante, Shepps, Hackenberg.