MEN’S BASKETBALL

The HU men’s basketball team opened up the season in convincing fashion with a 111-59 win over Grace Christian Saturday afternoon at Platt Arena. Under Alford’s direction, the Foresters have started each of his four seasons with a W.

Headlining the win was the play of junior Lane Sparks. The 6-3 guard became the 54th player in program history to join the 1,000-point club. He needed just 13 points coming into the year and two minutes into the second half, he stepped up to the line where his first make put him at the 1K mark. He finished the night with a game-high 19 points bringing his career total to 1,006 points.

Of the 14 Foresters who saw action, six landed in double figures to make for a well-balanced, fast-paced attack. In addition to Sparks’ 19, Landen Jordan missed just one field goal on his way to adding 18 points. Seniors Joel Dyer and Mitchell Wilson offered solid minutes off the bench to post 14 and 13 points respectively.

Transfer Romain Bruwier and freshman Landon Biegel also got in on the scoring frenzy off the bench by tossing in 12 points apiece. Biegel’s first of two triples put his team above the century mark with five minutes remaining. He was one of seven players to hit at least one three.

The Foresters wasted little time showcasing their high octane offense as evidenced by tripling up the Tigers at 21-7 within the first seven minutes of the game. While the hosts were busy sizzling the nets at a clip of 77.4 percent in the first half, missing just seven field goals, they also clamped down defensively to allow just six field goals through the first 20 minutes.

It made for a 59-19 lead that was never really challenged as Alford and crew extended the gap to 52 by game’s end. HU finished 59.7 percent (43-for-72) from the floor, committed just five miscues while forcing 16 and tracked down 12 of their misses which they converted into 11 points.

Melvin Frazier and JoCorian Freeman paced Grace Christian with 12 points each.

Next up for Huntington is the Ness Bros. Hall of Fame Classic on November 3-4. The Foresters will host Kentucky Christian at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and WVU Tech at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.