MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Huntington men’s basketball team wrapped up the regular season with a 74-63 win over #RV Grace (22-8, 11-7) at the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center on Saturday afternoon. The W completes the regular season sweep over the Lancers with the first meeting an 88-74 decision.

“It’s never easy to win on the road in our league and it was a great way to finish regular season play,” said Coach Kory Alford. “I am proud of how these guys have continued to work throughout the long conference season.

“We’ve played extremely well in the month of February and that sets us up well heading into postseason.”

In addition to the Foresters claiming the victory, there were also several individual accomplishments to celebrate.

Zach Goodline entered the contest needing 16 points to join the 1,000 point club. With 4:35 remaining, the 6-1 junior scored on a fadeaway just outside the lane for his 17th point of the game to eclipse the 1K mark.

He bookended his history-making shot with a pair of threes to stretch his team’s lead from five to 12 for a 66-54 advantage with just under four minutes to go. It was his 60-second tear that solidified HU’s win as the Lancers would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Goodline finished with 20 points and a game-high six assists. To date, he has 1,004 career points in just two years of donning green and white for a scoring average of 17.6 ppg.

“Zach is off to a great start to his career,” said Alford. “I’m incredibly proud of his growth as a player and leader of this team. He has a tireless work ethic He’s a fearless competitor and I’m blessed to be able to coach him every day.”

Caleb Middlesworth also reached a significant milestone by corralling his 500th career rebound with just over eight minutes remaining. He finished with ten on the day with his last, an offensive board, proving No. 500. The senior forward also turned in a game-high 21 points for the double double.

It was a tight game through the first 16 minutes until HU finally pieced together an 8-1 run to close out the half for a 34-25 advantage heading into the locker room. Huntington enjoyed a double-digit lead most of the second period with few exceptions with the most notable a 6-0 Grace run that trimmed it to 58-53 before Goodline’s heroics gave HU some much-needed breathing room.

Jakob Gibbs posted 20 points to pace the Lancers while Cade Gibbs added ten.

With this win, Huntington (21-9) improves to 10-8 in league play for the No. 6 spot in the conference tournament. The Foresters will take on 3rd-seeded Saint Francis on Wednesday in quarterfinal action of the CL tourney. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Fort Wayne.