MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Junior Adrian Williams scored a
season-high 19 points to lead four Huntingdon players in double
figures, as the Huntingdon men’s basketball team defeated the top team
in the Great South Athletic Conference Piedmont, 87-79, on Saturday at
Roland Arena.
Piedmont entered the game with a 14-6 overall record and were
undefeated in league play at 3-0, but ran into a hot-shooting Hawks’
(10-9, 2-2 GSAC) squad, which shot 50.8 percent from the floor for the
game. The Lions also shot well from the field, hitting 47.5 percent of
their shots, including 55 percent of their treys.
Junior Ephraim Hudson added 16 points for the Hawks in the victory,
while senior Heath Miller and junior Deshaun Williams each chipped in
11 points. Miller led Huntingdon with eight rebounds, while fellow
senior Reggie Sprouse finished with seven boards. Junior Jack
Montgomery added six boards, including three offensive, off the bench.
Huntingdon jumped out the gates quickly, taking a 14-6 lead,
following a lay-in by A. Williams with 15:09 left in the opening half.
However, the Lions (14-7, 3-1 GSAC) rallied back, taking a two-point
lead, 23-21, after a trey by Michael Rubio with just over seven minutes
remaining in the half. The two squads were tied as late as 3:16 left in
the period, but Huntingdon took the lead for good by closing the half
with an 11-3 run to close the half.
In the opening period, the Hawks held a commanding 28-10 advantage
in the glass, led by Williams’ 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Huntingdon
also turned eight turnovers into 15 points to take a 43-35 lead to the
intermission.
Piedmont pulled to within one point early in the second half by
opening the period with a 7-0 run. The Hawks put the game out of reach
by scoring the next eight points, to take a 51-42 lead with 13:30
remaining.
Despite Piedmont cutting the deficit to three points, Huntingdon
went on to lead by as many as 15 points with 6:15 left in the game on a
jumper by Hudson.
Keying the Hawks down the stretch was their performance at the
charity stripe, as they hit 10-of-12 free throws in the final two
minutes. Huntingdon knocked down 23-of-30 shots from the line for the
game, compared to just 12-of-23 for the Lions.
D. Williams paced the Hawks with four assists, while A. Williams led
the squad with three blocked shots. Sprouse added three steals.
Josh Haymore and Samuel Coppage led the Lions with a combined 41
points off the bench, including seven 3-pointers. Peter Ricks added 11
points, while J.C. Herebia, who entered the contest averaging 14.5
points and 5.6 rebounds, was limited to just seven points and two
rebounds.
Huntingdon will return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 10, when it
travels to Lookout Mountain, Ga., to take on Covenant. Tip-off is
scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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Tim Lutz
Sports Information Director
Phone: (334) 833-4579
tlutz@huntingdon.edu
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