MEN’S BASKETBALL

It was a game for the ages Wednesday night in Platt Arena with the #13 HU men’s basketball team picking off #3 Indiana Wesleyan 97-88 on opening night of league play. It was Huntington’s 21-point run midway through the second half that set the stage for the upset.

Facing their largest disparity of the evening at 61-49 with 13 minutes remaining, the Foresters looked to Drew Goodline to rally the troops. A pair of contested triples by the sharpshooter within a 90-second span jumpstarted the scoring frenzy.

Not long after, a Landen Jordan dunk not only sent the home crowd into a tizzy but pulled his team within a bucket. A putback by the big man on the next possession knotted things up at 61-61 after which Goodline scored back-to-back jumpers. Lane Sparks put the finishing touches on the run with a layup followed by a traditional three-point play to give the Foresters their largest lead up to that point at 70-61 with 8:39 remaining.

The closest the Wildcats (6-1, 0-1) would get after that was five points. Goodline nailed two more threes to make sure of that. Jackson Paul and Maximus Gizzi also played vital roles down the stretch, teaming up to score 17 of HU’s final 22 points.

Paul’s layup in transition and old-fashioned three-point play on consecutive possessions were his biggest claims to fame while Gizzi’s fade away baseline jumper as the shot clock was expiring with three minutes remaining highlighted his play as did the four clutch free throws he hit in the final two minutes.

The Foresters missed just ten shots in the second half on their way to shooting 56.1 percent for the game (37-for-66) which included going 8-for-15 beyond the arc. The hosts were perfect from the line at 15-for-15 and committed a mere four miscues.

On all accounts, it was a consummate team win. Goodline was sensational, especially from downtown where he drained six of his seven attempts, to finish with a career-best and game-high 24 points. He also dished out four dimes. Paul poured in a season-best 19 points while Sparks tossed in 18. In addition to running the show, Gizzi posted 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Romain Bruwier had one of his best outings in Forester green, scoring 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting and a pair of freebies. The 6-9 senior also had two snuffs and corralled nine boards to finish a rebound shy of a double double.

IWU landed six players in double figures behind Luke Brown’s 19 points followed by Caedmon Bontrager with 18, DJ Moore with 16 and Griffin Kliewer, Marcus Ankney and Isaac Andrews each with 11.

Tonight’s win breaks up IWU’s perfect season while HU remains unbeaten at 8-0 which includes a 1-0 record in league play. The win also snaps the three-game win streak the Wildcats held over Alford’s crew.

Only two teams in the Crossroads League remain undefeated but all that will change Saturday when the Foresters host #RV Bethel, the other unbeaten team, at 3:00 p.m.