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A three-point play by BJ McGill with 1.7 seconds left on the clock lifted the Bearcats to a 72-71 victory over visiting Juniata College.

The game was close right from the start, as the teams were tied five different times during the first half.  An Isaac Turner three-pointer with 2:45 left put SVC up five points, 26-21, but a drive by Dan Sekulski brought the Eagles back within one, 26-25, just over a minute later.  After each team added another field goal, Dennis Bassich increased the Saint Vincent lead to three at the half, 30-27, with a pair of free throws with 1.5 seconds remaining.

The Bearcats used that momentum to open the lead to five at the outset of the second half, with Grant Latus providing not only the first points of the half, but also adding three blocked shots in the first 2 1/2 minutes.  Another three by Turner helped Saint Vincent to increase the lead to nine, 37-28, just over three minutes into the second half.

After the visitors cut the SVC lead back to four, 42-38, McGill, who had been held to just one point in the first half, scored five consecutive points inside of 20 seconds to run the lead back to nine, 47-38.

However, the Eagles then stormed back, and when an eight-point run ended at the 9:45 mark, they held a 50-49 lead over Saint Vincent.  A long three that just by Turner that just beat the shot clock buzzer quickly gave Saint Vincent back the lead, 52-50, but a pair of free throws by Jeremy Hays of Juniata tied the game at 52.

It then became a battle of runs...first, Saint Vincent scored six straight points, but the Eagles countered with their own six point run to tie the game at 58.  McGill then tallied the game's next five points, putting the Bearcats in front, 63-58, with 3:27 remaining, but the lead would not hold.

Juniata's Sekulski scored with 1:35 on the clock to make the score 65-63, with the Bearcats still in front.  The margin became one at the 1:04 mark when Austin Ankney hit a free throw.  After Saint Vincent failed to score on its next possession, Hays came down the court and not only scored to give the Eagles a one-point lead, but drew a foul in the process, with just 49.5 seconds remaining.  Hays missed the free throw, but Ankney battled for the rebound and tipped it in, giving Juniata a 68-65 lead with 48.1 ticks left.

With just 23 seconds remaining, Turner drove to the basket and scored, cutting the deficit to just one, and a quick foul sent Alex Raymond to the line with 19.5 remaining.  He hit both shots, stretching the lead back to three, 70-67, but Grant Latus scored with 9.7 left to bring the Bearcats back within one.  Once again, another foul sent Raymond to the line with 8.3 seconds on the clock, but he missed the first free throw.  After a time out, Raymond hit the second to make the score 71-69, setting up McGill's last second heroics. 

The Bearcat team captain drove down the court and scored on a layup, drawing a foul on the play.  He connected on the eventual game-winning free throw with just 1.7 seconds left.  Juniata then called time out to attempt to set up a last second shot, but freshman Dillon Stith blocked the inbound pass for the Bearcats, and the hosts held on for the hard fought victory.

Turner led all scorers with a career high 25 points.  McGill added 14, to go along with 7 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots.  Latus added 10 points, four boards and seven blocked shots.  Saint Vincent was a strong 14-for-16 from the free throw line on the night.

Five Juniata players scored in double figures -- Hays led with 14, while Sekulski added 13, Ankney 12, Raymond 10 and Brian Scholly 10.  Ankney had a team best six rebounds.  Juniata outrebounded SVC by a 40-38 margin, but hit just 19 of 28 free throws.

Saint Vincent improves to 4-1 with the victory, while Juniata drops to 2-3.  The Bearcats will be back in action on Monday night, hosting Penn State-Altoona at 7PM.