MEN’S BASKETBALL

Touted as one of the hottest teams in the NAIA right now, the Huntington men’s basketball team, ranked #18 in today’s poll, lived up to that reputation Wednesday night at Platt Arena by sending Saint Francis (13-13, 6-10) home with an 86-78 loss. The win is HU’s seventh straight as Alford and crew move to 20-6 on the year, 12-4 in league play.

The evening didn’t start off too hot for the Foresters. The hosts dug themselves in a 23-8 hole and then spent the final nine minutes of the first half righting their wrong. Alford’s bench came to the rescue by way of some sharpshooting by Joel Dyer and Jackson Paul. They were instant offense as each drained a three within minutes of entering the contest.

It turned HU’s 15-point disparity to single digits at 23-14 by the midway point of the period and was the start of Huntington’s slow grind to get back in it. Huntington methodically gained ground over the next few minutes but then Ben Humrichous expedited the process with a layup and back-to-back triples in a span of 90 seconds to knot things up at 29-29 with 4:30 left in the frame.

Zach Goodline and Dyer each dropped in another three before intermission to help their team outscore USF by eight in the final three minutes of the period for a 41-37 HU lead. Half of Huntington’s field goals in the opening 20 minutes were from deep. They finished 8-for-14 from long range to sizzle the nets at a clip of 57.1 percent.

HU’s accuracy was even more impressive in the next 20 minutes compliments of Dyer and Jackson. The pair combined to go 5-for-6 from beyond the arc. As a team, the Foresters matched their first half total of eight triples but needed just ten shots to do so.

Despite Huntington’s barrage of threes, the Cougars still managed to regain and maintain a lead throughout much of the first ten minutes of the second half. It was Dyer’s fourth and final trey of the night at the 9:31 mark that finally gave HU a permanent lead of 62-59. Four minutes later, Goodline canned his fourth three-pointer of the evening for the Foresters’ largest lead of the night at 73-63.

But USF wasn’t ready to call it quits. They chipped away at the lead to eventually whittle it down to two, 78-76, with two minutes to go. Consecutive layups by Hank Pulver and Lane Sparks gave HU a little breathing room. Sparks then sank four freebies in the final minute to put the kibosh on any intention the Cougars had of a heroic finish.

Sparks finished with 19 points and 12 boards for the double double. Goodline also tossed in 19 points in addition to handing out seven dimes and ripping down five rebounds. Paul finished with 14 points for a new career high. Humrichous added 13 and Dyer matched his career-best with 12.

Zane Burke poured in 24 points to lead Saint Francis. Branden Northern added 20 while Antwaan Cushingberry and Dan McKeeman recorded 16 and 14 points respectively.

Tonight’s win ups HU’s win streak over the Cougars to four. Alford and crew host Mount Vernon on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.