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The Bearcats were unable to overcome a 15-point second half deficit, falling to Juniata College in the Carey Center by a score of 74-70.

Juniata jumped to a 7-0 lead before Dillon Stith hit a three pointer just over four minutes into play to get the Bearcats on the board, starting an 8-2 run that cut the gap to just one, 9-8.  A bucket by Isaac Turner and a drive by Chris Klimchock gave SVC the lead, 12-11, with 11 minutes left in the first half.

However, the Golden Eagles then took control, as Brian Scholly hit a three to break a 16-16 tie with 9 minutes left, and outscored SVC 19-12 the rest of the half to take a 35-28 lead into the break.

Juniata then came out on fire to start the second half, going on a 11-3 run at the start to make it a 15-point game, 46-31. 

With 8:46 to go, another three by Scholly, who hit 6-of-7 from behind the arc on the day, made it 60-47, but the Bearcats refused to give up.  JC Howard started the rally with a pair of free throws, then Turner hit a three at the 7-minute mark.  Ed Wright then came up with a steal and breakaway score.  After a free throw by Juniata, Turner scored again to complete the 9-1 run and make it a five-point game, 61-56. 

The visitors later rebuilt the lead to nine, but free throws by Sean Kett and Dillon Stith once again made it a five-point game, 67-62, with 1:35 to go.

Juniata tallied another score, but Klimchock scored again with 57.8 to go, but Juniata managed to hit several free throws late in the game, while SVC struggled to hit late opportunities. 

Klimchock led all scorers in the game with 28 points, including a 6-8 showing from three point range.  Turner added 12 points, while Stith had 8.  Grant Latus had a team-high 9 rebounds, while Kett added six. 

For Juniata (8-2), Scholly had 19 points, while Jeremy Hays added 16.  Kevin Stapleton led all rebounders with 11, including 10 key defensive boards.

As a team, SVC shot just 36.4% on the day, compared to 53% for the Golden Eagles. 

Saint Vincent drops to 7-3 with the loss.  The team will return to action on December 29-30 in the Hood College Tournament in Maryland.