Huntingdon men stumble at Covenant

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. – The Huntingdon men's basketball team fell behind in the second half and lost to Covenant College 89-82 on Saturday.

After leading for most of the first half, Huntingdon (6-5, 1-2 USA South) fell behind early in the second half. Covenant (7-6, 2-1 USA South) built a double-digit lead midway through the second half and led by as many as 14 points.

Huntingdon pulled within five points three times in the final five minutes, but Covenant answered each time. A 3-pointer by senior Raheem Berry made it 87-82 with 43 seconds left, but the Scots hit two free throws and held off the Hawks in the final 30 seconds.

"Our effort was good but we did not play well on defense," Huntingdon head coach Mike Pugh said. "Andre Ashley continued to play well for us, freshman Brandon McLean is doing some very good things for us on offense and defense and Austin Washington stepped in and gave us a lift. We have some guys who are playing well. We just have to keep working."

Ashley led the Hawks with 20 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks. For the season, Ashley is third in the conference with 15.3 points per game, fourth with 8.1 rebounds per game and second with 2.1 steals per game.

McLean added 12 points and seven rebounds and Washington and R.J. Jones each had 11 points. Washington also had six assists.

Huntingdon plays at Piedmont on Sunday at 3 p.m.