Huntingdon men bounce back with conference win over Covenant

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon men's basketball team built an early lead Saturday, but had trouble putting Covenant College away at Roland Arena.

The Hawks built a double-digit lead twice, only to watch the Scots chip away and get back in the game. Huntingdon's final push made the difference as the Hawks came away with a 79-65 win.

"We started off crisp, but it seemed like we got complacent after we got the lead," Huntingdon sophomore guard Jason Varney said. "But coach made some good calls, we executed and we pulled back ahead and got the win. We're getting better at keeping the intensity up the whole game and finishing. We didn't do that during the first part of the season."

Varney and Huntingdon head coach Mike Pugh both said the Hawks (6-10, 2-1 Great South Athletic Conference) needed this win after a disappointing showing at LaGrange on Wednesday.

"We were disappointed with the loss Wednesday and it was important for us to come out and win today and get our confidence back up," Pugh said. "This was a tough one. We had them down, but we never could put it away. They just kept coming back.

Fortunately, we kept pushing back ahead each time. That's one of the biggest differences between this team now and at the start of the season. Early in the year, we didn't respond in those situations. Now, we keep playing and find a way to finish the game."

After a 0-7 start, Huntingdon has won six of its last nine games.

Against Covenant, Huntingdon jumped out to a 17-point lead midway through the first half before the Scots rallied to make it a five-point game early in the second half. The Hawks pushed their lead back to 15 points before Covenant cut it to four points with 12:29 left in the game.

Huntingdon again extended its lead, to as much as 18 points, and this time was able to hold the lead.

Austin Hill, in his fourth game as a Hawk, led Huntingdon with 17 points. Jeremiah Thomas added 14 points and Varney followed with 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. Courtnee Edgar and Ryan Petty each scored 10 points and Kanden Blackmon hit three 3-pointers to finish with nine points. Petty also had four assists.

"We're getting a total team effort," Varney said. "We've got a lot of guys scoring and we're getting a good defensive effort. Top to bottom, from the starters to the guys coming off the bench, we're playing well. I like the balance we've been showing."

Huntingdon returns to action at home on Monday. The Hawks hosts Rust College at 6 p.m.