Huntingdon bounces back with win over Mount St. Vincent

ATLANTA – The Huntingdon men's basketball team overcame two early injuries and held off Mount St. Vincent 82-78 on Monday in the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Tournament at Oglethorpe.

After falling to Regis College in overtime on Sunday, the Hawks (6-3) hit a 3-pointer and sank five free throws in the final minutes to seal Monday's win.

A 3-pointer by sophomore R.J. Jones put Huntingdon in front 77-72 with 2:06 to play. In the final 25 seconds, seniors Raheem Berry and Dantavius Washington and freshman Scotty Chadwick combined to hit 5-of-6 free throws to close out the victory.

"The guys played hard to get this win," Huntingdon head coach Mike Pugh said. "We were scrambling after Jerrod Pettus and Andre Ashley both went down with injuries in the first 10 minutes of the game, but we never gave up. We kept battling and the guys found a way to win.

"I've seen a lot of good things out of this group so far this season. We're going to keep working and try to keep building as we head into January."

Despite losing Pettus and Ashley, who combined to average 26.4 points, 14.4 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 3.5 steals in the first eight games of the season, Huntingdon regrouped and closed the first half with a strong showing.

The Hawks led 18-16 with 9:55 left in the first half and carried a 12-point lead, 39-27, into halftime. The Hawks extended their lead to 15 points in the second half before Mount St. Vincent rallied and tied the game 50-50 with 12:52 left in the game.

Mount St. Vincent (5-6) briefly took the lead before sophomore Wyatt Popovich hit a 3-pointer to give the Hawks a 55-54 lead with 10:42 to play. Huntingdon would not put the game away until the final seconds, but the Hawks did not trail again.

Jones finished as the Hawks' leading scorer with 14 points and Berry and freshman Brandon McLean each recorded double-doubles. Berry finished with 13 points and a season-high 10 rebounds to go with four assists and two steals. McLean pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds and matched a season-high with 10 points. Washington added 12 points.

Huntingdon returns to action at home on Jan. 3 against Oglethorpe. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.