MEN’S BASKETBALL

The #RV Cougars of Saint Francis relied on a strong second half to send the 12th-ranked HU men’s basketball team home with an 89-65 loss Wednesday night in the Hutzell Athletic Center.

With this win, not only does USF (10-3) remain undefeated in league play at 3-0, but the win also snaps a six-game losing streak against Huntington.

It was just the second time this season the Foresters have scored less than 70 points as they struggled to put the ball in the hole with any sort of consistency. As a team, Alford’s club shot an uncharacteristic 35.9 percent from the field (23-for-64) which included going 6-for-21 from deep. The guests also struggled at the line where they connected on just 13 of their 22 attempts for 59.1 percent.

While it was the final 20 minutes that doomed HU, there were glimpses of what was to come in the first half. A five-minute spurt starting at the 13-minute mark saw the hosts piece together a 10-1 run that turned their three-point lead of 15-12 into a 25-13 disparity.

Maximus Gizzi’s triple from the corner ignited an impressive turnaround by the Foresters. Kaden Johnson also factored into the comeback by scoring eight points on the way to HU claiming a 30-28 lead with just under three minutes left in the half. Not to be outdone, the Cougars responded by scoring seven of the final nine points of the period to head into intermission with a slight 35-32 advantage.

It was still a three-point difference four minutes into the second period but after that Saint Francis started to pull away fueled by a Huntington four-minute scoring drought. The final ten minutes saw the Cougars enjoy a double-digit lead for all but one possession with six minutes to go when Lane Sparks scored a layup in transition to pull his team within nine at 65-56.

The Foresters ran out of steam after that as USF rattled off the next nine points to blow the game wide open.

Sparks topped HU with 20 points. Johnson was the only other Forester in double figures. The 6-11 forward came off the bench to pour in a season-best 13 points while grabbing six boards and handing out two assists.

The Cougars were led by Branden Northern’s 21 points. Other double digit scorers for USF included Luke Almodovar with 18, Zane Burke with 14, Isaiah Malone with 13 and Joe Reidy with ten. Malone also had ten rebounds to notch the double double.

The Foresters (8-2, 1-2) have a few days to regroup before hosting Mount Vernon Saturday at 3:00 p.m.