MEN’S BASKETBALL

It was not the Senior Night Coach Jauch and his crew had scripted. No. 19 Huntington looked firmly in control Wednesday evening at Platt Arena before a second-half scoring drought and a crushing final sequence handed University of Saint Francis a 62-61 comeback victory.

The Foresters (20-7, 11-6) handled business early. After trading punches to start, HU surged ahead and carried a commanding 45-30 lead into the locker room. Jackson Paul wasted no time adding to it, drilling a three on the opening possession of the second half to push Huntington’s advantage to 18 — its largest of the night.

Then everything stalled. HU went scoreless for nearly ten minutes before Cade Brenner finally knocked down a triple at the 10-minute mark. Remarkably, the Foresters still led 53-48 at that point, but the momentum had shifted.

Even after rebuilding an eight-point cushion at 60-52 with just over three minutes remaining, Huntington could not close the door. The hosts managed just one point the rest of the way with their fatal flaw coming at the charity stripe. Following a missed Saint Francis free throw in the closing seconds, HU failed to secure the rebound, and a Cougar putback with under five seconds to play gave the visitors their first lead since the 17:36 mark of the first half. That lead stood as Huntington’s final look at the buzzer bounced off the rim.

The Foresters finished the night shooting 36.2 percent (21-of-58) from the floor and 27.6 percent (8-of-29) from beyond the arc, while converting 11-of-19 at the stripe. HU posted a 36-43 rebounding deficit and scored just 16 points in the second half after pouring in 45 over the first 20 minutes.

Kaden Johnson led Huntington with 17 points and 14 rebounds for a double-double. Keylane Lasisi and Cade Brenner each added 12, with Brenner connecting on four triples. Paul chipped in 11 points and dished out seven assists, while Miles Good contributed six points, four rebounds and four assists off the bench.

Saint Francis shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59) and was paced by Marr Avance and Karson Rogers, who each scored 17 points. Rogers also controlled the glass with 16 rebounds. Joe Reidy added eight points and nine boards, while Braeden Messenger finished with seven points and four rebounds.

Huntington will look to regroup Saturday when it travels to Indianapolis to face Marian at 3:00 p.m. in its regular season finale.