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The Crossroads League drew first blood in the inaugural Crossroads League/GPAC Challenge, as Huntington and host #7 Grace both notched decisive wins Friday night at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. After the Lancers opened with a 15-point victory over #19 Morningside, the Foresters followed suit with an 81-58 rout of Briar Cliff to give the Crossroads League a 2-0 edge after day one.

While HU technically picked up a win via forfeit last week, this one carried extra significance as it marked the first official victory on the court for first-year head coach Jared Jauch.

The Foresters were lights-out from deep, using a barrage of three-pointers — particularly from their bench — to pull away for the 23-point win. Despite being limited by foul trouble to just 12 minutes of PT, Landon Biegel was the catalyst. The 6-5 junior wasted no time heating up, drilling three triples in less than two minutes midway through the first half to give HU the lead for good.

Biegel’s second-half reentry produced more of the same, as he splashed back-to-back treys to reestablish a double-digit cushion after the Chargers had crept within striking distance. Biegel finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting (6-for-10 from three) to go along with four rebounds.

Taden Metzger joined the long-range clinic late in the second half, catching fire with just over six minutes remaining. The redshirt freshman hit three threes from the corner on consecutive trips down the court to turn an 11-point game into a blowout in under 90 seconds. Metzger ended with a career-high 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting — all from beyond the arc.

Miles Good also had the hot hand, tallying 17 points, which included a 3-for-4 performance from long range, while handing out a game-leading five assists. Kaden Johnson dominated the glass with a 16-rebound, 10-point double-double and four assists. Keylane Lasisi made his presence felt defensively with 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

Huntington led 44-32 at halftime and never looked back, shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 42.9 percent (15-for-35) from three-point range. The Foresters held Briar Cliff to just 16 percent (4-for-25) from long distance and owned nearly every statistical category — except at the free throw line and in turnovers. The Chargers earned 24 trips to the charity stripe compared to HU’s eight and the cleanly-played game saw BCU commit just six turnovers to the Foresters’ eight.

BCU was led by Blake Sindelar’s 17 points, followed by Joshua Stevenson with 13 and Wil Lugar with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

With the win, Huntington improves to 2-1, while Briar Cliff falls to 1-1. The Foresters are back in action Saturday afternoon as the Crossroads League/GPAC Challenge shifts to Platt Arena, where HU will host #19 Morningside at 3:00 p.m. following #7 Grace’s matchup with Briar Cliff.