By Kenny Varner

MIFFLINTOWN – Two Tri-Valley rivals met on the hardwood Monday night as the Juniata boys basketball team hosted a scrappy Greenwood team.

throw the records out when these two meet as the rivalry seemingly brings out the best competition for both teams.

Monday was no exception.

The Wildcats would get the best the Indians on the night as its defense stood tall in the final minutes to hold onto a thrilling 39-37 victory.

“We had some good looks but we came up short. We had our chances and they had their chances. We just have to keep working and keep grinding to get back into the winning side of things,” said Juniata coach Al Ream. “I think our kids played extremely hard. This is a back-and-forth rivalry game we play against Greenwood every year. You have to give their team credit they played really well. We played really well but we just came up short tonight.”

Going into the fourth quarter, the Wildcats clung to a 33-27 lead.

Juniata’s defense made an early stand, forcing the Wildcats into a sidelines violation on the inbounds.

The Indians fans had a lot to cheer about as Damien Vance was clutch on two triples in a 6-2 run by Juniata.

With the two treys, the Indians trailed 35-33.

However, the Greenwood defense held and got the ball back. The Wildcats worked the ball around the key looking for the best shot while also taking precious time off the clock.

With 3:47 remaining in the game, the Wildcats would get a triple by their man in the middle Noah Weller, upping the Greenwood lead to 38-33.

But Guante would hit a triple of his own, putting the Indians back within striking distance 38-36.

From there both defenses took over as neither team would get a field goal in the final minutes, just a free throw each as the Wildcats took the two-point victory.

Juniata started off with the early momentum in the first quarter, taking an early 10-5 advantage.

Greenwood led off the game with a quick bucket by Mike Hoy.

But on the following possession for Juniata, Jasper Shepps hit his first bucket on a lay-in, knotting it at two. Shepps finished with a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Greenwood’s slow moving offense took major time off the first quarter clock and produced a turnover on its second trip down court.

The Indians made the most of the turnover as they got the ball to Ricky Guante who went right in traffic for his first bucket.

After a bucket by Greenwood’s inside man Weller tying the game, Guante got the ball again and lined up for a shot beyond the three-point line, giving them back the lead at 7-4.

Juniata ended the first quarter on a triple by Jadon Nealman, sending the Juniata squad into the second with a 10-5 advantage.

Greenwood’s defense took center stage in the second, forcing Juniata out of its shooting rhythm and closing off the easy shot attempts.

Its offense came alive in the period starting scoring 14.

Shepps led the second quarter with a spin moved that faked out the Wildcats defense and led to an easy lay in.

The momentum started to turn in Greenwood’s direction when the Wildcats would get a triple by Ben Brinser who had a triple and hit one-of-two from the foul line in consecutive jaunts up the court, making it a 14-13 advantage for the visitors.

Despite a late Guante triple, the Wildcats would outscore Juniata 6-2, taking a 19-16 lead into the intermission.

Things remained relatively close in the third as the Wildcats continued to stretch its lead by outscoring Juniata 14-11 to set up the final stanza and the drama that would follow.

With the loss, the Indians fall to 3-3 while Greenwood stands at 2-2.

Greenwood 39, Juniata 37

GR  5 14 14   6 – 39

JU 10  6  11 10 – 37

Scoring: GR – Jacob Anderson 3 1-2 9, Mike Hoy 1 0-0 2,Ben Brinser 4 4-6 14, Brodie Woodard 2 3-5 9,Noah Weller 2 0-2 5. Totals 12 8-17 39. JU –  Jadon Nealman 2 1-1 6, Jasper Shepps 5 0-4 10, Ricky Guante 5 1-2 14, Damien Vance 2 1-3 7. Totals 14 3-10 37.

Played but didn’t score: GR – Mason Morgan 0 0-0 0, Grant Davis 0 0-0 0, Jason Bower 0 0-0 0, Dylan Womer 0 0-0 0, Bronson Moyer 0 0-2 0, Ethan Grove 0 0-0 0, . JU –  Isaac Carlson 0 0-0 0, Nick Reed 0 0-0 0, Caden Swailes 0 0-0 0, Brian Kuhn 0 0-0 0.

Three-point shots: GR – Anderson 2, Brinser 2, Weller . JU –  Nealman, Guante 3, Vance 3.