MEN’S BASKETBALL

The 3rd-seeded Forester men’s basketball team is moving on to the semis of the Crossroads League tournament after disposing of 6th-seeded Mount Vernon 100-83 Wednesday night at Platt Arena.

Both teams entered the quarterfinals of the tourney on a hot streak with Huntington, ranked #15 in the latest national poll, riding nine straight wins while MVNU came into the evening having won four of its last five outings. The opening eight minutes played homage to that as the lead passed back and forth five times with two ties along the way before Huntington finally took control.

With the score favoring Mount Vernon 14-9, Landen Jordan delivered one of his thunderous dunks to set Platt Arena, mostly filled with Forester green, into a tizzy. While it ignited a 17-0 run, Ben Humrichous stole the limelight by scoring 11 of those points within a two-minute span.

The 6-8 forward wowed the crowd by cashing in on a traditional three-point play, scoring in transition and then dropping in a pair of threes. By the time the dust settled from Humrichous and crew’s scoring frenzy, Huntington was up 26-14 with ten minutes left in the half.

The hosts grew their lead to as many as 21 with three minutes to go in the frame before settling for a 52-36 advantage by intermission. The opening 20 minutes saw the Foresters knock down 62.9 percent of their shots (22-for-35) and force their guests into 15 turnovers while committing just six of their own.

With their season on the line, the Cougars made it clear they weren’t ready to surrender without a fight. As they scratched and clawed their way back in it after the break, compliments of their sharp shooting from deep, their deficit finally shrunk to single digits at 80-71 with just under six minutes remaining.

Zach Goodline, as he has done so often this season, answered swiftly with a quick bucket to send a clear message. There would be no heroic comeback. The final five minutes was a march to the free throw line as 16 of HU’s final 18 points happened with the clock stopped.

Huntington finished 27-for-32 from the charity stripe for 84.4 percent. While HU cooled off from the field in the second half, hitting just 37.9 percent of their shots (11-for-29), they still managed to shoot 51.6 percent for the game (33-for-64).

Goodline topped all scorers with 26 points to go along with four assists, four rebounds and two steals. Lane Sparks poured in 19 points. Jordan added 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Humrichous finished with 15 while Hank Pulver tossed in ten. Joel Dyer and Jackson Paul came off the bench to post eight and six points respectively to account for the rest of HU’s scoring.

Fourteen of MVNU’s 30 field goals were from long range with five different Cougars nailing a three. HU was the benefactor of 25 MVNU turnovers to the tune of 29 points.

Kade Ruegsegger nailed five threes on his way to scoring 25 points for Mount Vernon. Kyle Kegley collected 17 points and eight rebounds on the night while Eric McLaughlin and Trent Koning registered 14 and 13 points respectively.

Tonight marks the sixth time this season the Foresters have reached the century mark. It’s also their tenth straight win as they improve to 23-6 overall. The last time the program advanced to the Crossroads League semifinals dates back to the 2017-18 season when they upset Marian 102-91 in the opening round.

Alford and crew host 7th-seeded Taylor on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. The Trojans upset 2nd-seeded Indiana Wesleyan 78-74 in overtime to survive and advance to the semifinals. The TU win is their first over the Wildcats in 11 years and snaps the 26-game win streak IWU had lorded over them.