MEN’S BASKETBALL

The #14 Huntington men’s basketball team kicked off the Ness Bros. Hall of Fame Classic in convincing fashion Friday night with a 105-62 win over Kentucky Christian.

While the end product was a 40+ point lopsided decision, the hosts had a hard time shaking the Knights until well into the first half. HU never trailed but their advantage was limited to single digits until Lane Sparks knocked down a pullup jumper in the lane at the 7:04 mark  to give his team a 29-19 lead.

KCU fired back on their next possession with one of their nine threes to trim it back seven but the next 60 seconds saw one of Landen Jordan’s notorious dunks followed by a pair of freebies from the big man to make for a permanent double-digit difference.

Sharp shooting at the end of the period sent HU into the locker room with a comfortable 21-point lead. Drew Goodline and Joel Dyer each dropped in a three in the final two minutes to fuel a 10-2 run for a 48-27 disparity at the break.

It was more of the same in the final 20 minutes with Huntington again outscoring their guests by more than 20. The Foresters made it look easy in the second frame, committing just two miscues and shooting over 50.0 percent from the field as a team to put 57 points on the board and surpass the century mark.

Huntington is 2-0 on the season having scored more than 100 points each time.

Zach Goodline led the HU charge with 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting. He also handed out a game-best six assists and swiped a game-leading five steals. Sparks finished with 16 points. Drew Goodline came off the bench to add a career-best 15.

Jordan and Jackson Paul tossed in 13 and ten points respectively to round out Huntington’s double-digit scoring. Romain Bruwier pulled down a game-tying eight boards, half of which he snagged from the offensive glass.

Leading the way for the Knights was LeMar Northington with 16 points while Arquis Reynolds pitched in 12 points to go along with eight rebounds.

While KCU outscored HU from deep, 27-21, the hosts more than made up the difference by knocking down 18 more field goals and winning the free throw battle 18-9. The key to Huntington’s success was their care of the basketball. Alford’s crew committed just nine turnovers to the Knights’ 23 which the Foresters cashed in for 36 points.

Day two of the Ness Bros. Hall of Fame Classic features HU taking on WVU Tech tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. with Harris-Stowe and Kentucky Christian squaring off at 1:00 p.m.