Huntingdon men open season with loss to Berry

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon men's basketball team battled Berry College down to the final minute in Tuesday night's season opener.

In a game in which neither team led by more than six points, the Vikings sank six free throws in the final 1:22 of the game to get by the Hawks 68-62.

Huntingdon senior Andre Ashley hit two free throws to tie the game 62-62 with 1:44 remaining. But from there, it was all Berry.

Following a technical foul, Berry's Caleb Johnson sank 2-of-4 free throws with 1:22 to play and Blake Jones hit 4-of-4 free throws in the final 21 seconds to seal the game. Johnson finished with 31 points for the Vikings and Jones added 14 points.

Ashley led the Hawks with 22 points and 11 rebounds and Brandon McLean followed with eight points, five rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots.

Huntingdon returns to action on Saturday in the Rhodes Tip-Off Tournament. The Hawks will play East Texas Baptist at 1 p.m.