MEN’S BASKETBALL

On the road for the first time this season, the #19 HU men’s basketball team held on for an 87-83 win over Lawrence Tech Wednesday night at Don Ridler Field House.

The Blue Devils struck first to claim a lead they would hold for the first eight minutes of play until back-to-back treys by Drew Goodline and Landon Biegel gave Alford and crew a 19-16 advantage with 12 minutes left in the first half.

Up by seven several minutes later, the Foresters jumped on the back of Landen Jordan who scored three quick buckets, including one of his infamous dunks, to push the lead to double figures at 34-24 by the eight-minute mark. It was a slow burn for LTU after that as they spent the rest of the half slashing their deficit to a single point, 40-39, by intermission.

Fueled by Romain Bruwier’s putback and layup, HU scored the first seven points of the second half to make for a 47-39 spread within the first 90 seconds. But a scrappy Blue Devil squad retaliated by piecing together a 14-5 run to reclaim the lead at 53-52 by the 14-minute mark.

It was a short-lived advantage and proved LTU’s last lead of the night. Up by a slim one-point margin of 59-58 with 12 minutes to go, Huntington erupted for 16 straight points with contributions from six different Foresters to enjoy a 75-58 lead at the 7:20 mark. As had been the case all evening, Tech wasn’t about to lay down and die.

The Blue Devils methodically chipped away at the lead until the difference was just two points, 80-78, with a minute remaining. A Maximus Gizzi old-fashioned three-point play stopped the bleeding after which the Foresters went 4-for-6 from the charity stripe to preserve the win.

Jordan led a balanced HU attack with 22 points to go along with six rebounds and five blocks. Bruwier added a career-tying 14 points. Goodline and Gizzi chipped in 13 and 11 points respectively with the pair also combining for 12 assists. Jackson Paul did a little bit of everything for his team by posting nine points, six boards, six assists and three steals.

Five Blue Devils accounted for all but two of their points which included Andrew Rinn and Jimmy Salamone each pouring in 22 points followed by Cameron McEvans’ 18, Aaron Dolny’s 11 and Blake Lunds’ ten.

Huntington (4-0) returns to Platt Arena on Saturday to host Holy Cross at 5:00 p.m.