MEN’S BASKETBALL

The 3rd-seeded Huntington men’s basketball team’s season came to an end Saturday night after falling to 6th-seeded Northwestern, 80-66, in the second round of the NAIA National Tournament at Platt Arena.

It was a matchup between two of the best teams in the country with HU ranked 12th in the final NAIA poll while the Raiders finished 13th nationally.

Alford and crew found themselves down by double figures before they knew what hit them. Within the opening four minutes the Raiders had raced out in front 14-3 with no intention of looking back. Lane Sparks accounted for HU’s first six points, all from deep, but unfortunately nine minutes had already ticked off the clock before anyone else scored.

It was a 12-point difference of 38-26 with just under four minutes left in the frame but things went even more sideways after that. NWC rang up a 10-3 run to close out the period for a halftime disparity of 48-29.

It was night and day between the two squads in the opening 20 minutes as the guests made two-thirds of their shots (16-for-24) which included going a staggering 7-for-11 from long range while also connecting on nine of their 14 freebies.

HU, on the other hand, struggled to put the ball in the hole, finishing the half 10-for-32 for 31.3 percent which included dropping in only three of their 17 three-point attempts for 17.6 percent. The hosts got to the line eight times, connecting on all but two.

Northwestern’s lead ballooned to as many as 29 midway through the second half. While the hosts were able to trim it to 14 by game’s end, it was too little too late as the win punched the Raider’s ticket to the Sweet 16 in Kansas City next week.

Sparks topped all scorers with 20 points. The 6-3 senior wraps up his Forester career with 2,289 points which places him fifth on HU’s all-time scoring list.

Drew Goodline dropped in 13 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Kaden Johnson ripped down a team-high six rebounds.

Alex Van Kalsbeek led a balanced Northwestern attack with 17 points. Jalen Langsy tossed in 15 while three others in Kaleb Booth, Jesse Van Kalsbeek and Conner Geddes netted 13 points apiece.

Tonight’s matchup was déjà vu from over two decades ago. The last time these two squads squared off was 2004 as part of NAIA Nationals with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line with HU prevailing in OT by three at 103-100. The high scoring affair avenged two losses Huntington suffered to the Raiders the previous two years in tourney action. The battle in 2003 was an Elite 8 game while the 2002 battle was a Sweet 16 contest.

The Foresters wrap up the year with an overall record of 25-8.