MEN’S BASKETBALL

The semifinals of the Crossroads League tournament saw the 2nd-seeded Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats hang on for a 79-74 win over the 3rd-seeded Huntington men’s basketball team Saturday afternoon at Luckey Arena.

The Foresters fought from behind to put themselves in a position to potentially force overtime but their hopes were dashed in the waning seconds. Down by six, 77-71, with less than 20 seconds remaining, HU had a glimmer of hope when Lane Sparks drained a three with seven ticks remaining to trim the difference to just three points.

An immediate foul sent the Wildcats to the line. Up to that point, the hosts had gone 17-for-18 from the charity stripe but with just over six seconds left, they missed both attempts giving Alford and crew a shot at drawing things even. But instead, HU was issued a technical foul for calling a timeout when they didn’t have any remaining.

It sent IWU back to the foul line where they made both attempts to make for a heartbreaking finish for the Huntington contingent.

The first half was uncharacteristic for both squads. The Foresters were held scoreless the first five minutes which allowed the Wildcats to build a 12-0 lead. Drew Goodline finally took the lid off the basket with a three at the 15:10 mark.

The hosts scored on their next possession for a double digit lead of 14-3 but then got stuck on 14 for the next seven minutes. HU wasn’t exactly tearing it up during that stretch as they managed just eight points for a 14-11 ball game with eight minutes left in the period. The Wildcats eventually took a 31-28 lead into intermission.

The Foresters came out of the locker room with new life to score five quick points for a 33-31 advantage. The two teams traded blows over the next few minutes until a pair of Jackson Paul freebies ignited a 10-0 run that ballooned HU’s lead to 11 at 50-39 by the 13:24 mark.

It was a slow burn for IWU as they methodically chipped away at their deficit. It was an 18-point swing over 11 minutes to make for a Wildcat lead of 75-68 with just over two minutes remaining. It was Huntington’s turn to play from behind but unfortunately neither time nor timeouts were on their side.

Sparks finished with 17 points to lead Alford’s squad. Zach Goodline added 16 points, five assists and three steals. Drew Goodline tossed in 11. Landen Jordan also scored 11 points to go along with 11 rebounds for the double double.

The Wildcats were paced by Nath Childress who posted 28 points and eight boards. Other double digit scorers for IWU included Caedmon Bontrager (14), Javan Buchanan (14), DJ Moore (12) and Griffin Kliewer (11).

With this loss, HU drops to 21-9. The Foresters now lie wait for the seeding of the NAIA National Tournament. First and second round action is slated for March 15-16.