MEN’S BASKETBALL

Tuesday night’s Crossroads League scuffle came down to the final possession with the #9 Wildcats of Indiana Wesleyan having the last say for a 73-71 win over the HU men’s basketball team (13-6, 2-5).

It was senior Seth Maxwell’s putback with 0.1 seconds remaining that sent IWU (16-3) home with their league record still unblemished at 7-0. The seven-footer filled the stat sheet with 15 points, ten rebounds, six assists and six blocks.

While the eight ties, 19 lead changes and no more than two possessions every separating the two squads speaks for itself, the final two minutes gives further insight into the quality of basketball played in Platt Arena on this given night.

Execution was near perfect down the stretch as both teams scored on every possession in the closing two minutes with HU’s only hiccup coming with just over a minute to play when they went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe.

While the game’s largest gap, 38-32, favored the Wildcats four minutes into the second half, the Foresters claimed a five-point spread on multiple occasions with their last, 62-57, coming with 4:36 to go when Hank Pulver laid one in after battling down low for an offensive rebound.

Wesleyan fired back with a 6-0 run to jump in front 63-62. The lead never ventured beyond two points the rest of the way to make for an electric ending.

Pulver finished with his best all-around performance of the year by posting a team-best 18 points, six boards, three assists and a block. Zach Goodline added 15 points while five other Foresters chipped in at least seven points.

In addition to Maxwell’s 15 points, IWU got double-digit contributions from Dan Largey (23), Tim Adetukasi (15) and Spencer Piercefield (11).

Both teams finished with 29 field goals and 15 free throw attempts. HU hit one more three than their guests, but IWU scored three more points from the line to give them the nod.

“It was an extremely hard fought and physical basketball game between two good teams,” said Coach Kory Alford. “I thought it was our most complete effort of the season – it’s just unfortunate the last play didn’t go our way.

“I thought the guys executed our game plan well and played unselfishly. We will learn from this game and look forward to competing again on Saturday.”

Huntington is back in Platt Arena on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. to take on their fourth straight ranked opponent in #7 Grace.