Andre Ashley scored 14 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to lead the Hawks in a 70-67 overtime win against Piedmont on Tuesday night. The win was the third straight for the Hawks. (Photo by Wesley Lyle)
Andre Ashley scored 14 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to lead the Hawks in a 70-67 overtime win against Piedmont on Tuesday night. The win was the third straight for the Hawks. (Photo by Wesley Lyle)

Hawks edge Piedmont in OT for third straight win

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon men's basketball team picked up its third straight victory with a 70-67 overtime win against Piedmont on Tuesday night.

Trailing 67-66 with 2:10 to play in overtime, R.J. Jones scored to give the Hawks the lead for good. Andre Ashley added a basket with 1:02 left to make it a three-point game. Piedmont had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but a 3-point attempt was off the mark and Huntingdon's Charlie Johnson grabbed the defensive rebound to end the game.

With three wins in their first four games, the Hawks (3-1) have already matched last season's win total and are 1-0 in the USA South Athletic Conference. With the loss, Piedmont dropped to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the USA South.

Huntingdon started strong and built a 12-point lead in the first eight minutes of the game on Tuesday. But Piedmont battled back and took a 31-28 lead into halftime. Neither team would lead by more than four points in the final 29 minutes of the game.

A layup by Ashley gave the Hawks a 62-58 lead with 2:02 left in the second half, but Piedmont hit two free throws to make it a two-point game and tied the game 62-62 with seven seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

Huntingdon's Jerrod Pettus led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field. Pettus also had six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Ashley added 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds and Jones had 12 points and six rebounds.

Coming off a seven-block performance against Berry, 6-foot-7 freshman Brandon McLean finished with five blocks and five rebounds in 18 minutes.

The Hawks return to action on Dec. 5 at Maryville at 3 p.m.