ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa.—An early 12-0 helped the Elizabethtown men's basketball team defeat Juniata, 80-70 Wednesday evening inside Thompson Gymnasium.

Woody Machado led with 23 points and seven rebounds. Austin Finarelli totaled 19 points and four rebounds. EJ Finney tallied 10 points and eight assists.

Etown got off to a quick 12-0 lead within the first four minutes of the half. Back-to-back Blue Jay three's put the team up 26-10. Midway through first half the Eagles came within 12 after a 4-0 run. An 11-0 run from Juniata chipped away at the Blue Jays lead with four minutes left. A jumper from Reese Ziegler brought the score to 34-25 before going into halftime with a 34-29 lead.

The Blue Jays were quick to extend their lead at the start of the second doubling their lead to 13 points.  At 14:18 on a fastbreak and a missed layup, Machado tipped in the ball to hold Etown's lead by 13 points. Trading baskets Juniata cut the Blue Jays lead to five points with just under 10 minutes remaining. The Blue Jays quickly got their lead back up to 10 and never looked back as they defeated Juniata, 80-70.

Etown will host Wilkes on Saturday for senior day.