Huntingdon sinks Piedmont in USA South opener

DEMOREST, Ga. – The Huntingdon men's basketball team sank 9-of-10 free throws in the final minutes, including five free throws in the final 24 seconds, to beat Piedmont College 79-74 on Friday.

Trailing 69-68 with 3:19 to play, freshman B.J. Barker made two free throws to give the Hawks the lead for good. The Hawks used one field goal and 7-of-8 free-throw shooting to make the lead hold up.

 A pair of free throws by senior Kyante Pines and a basket by sophomore James Harris made it a 74-71 game with 58 seconds left. Leading 74-72, Pines sank 1-of-2 free throws to make it a three-point game before Barker hit 4-of-4 free throws in the final 14 seconds to seal the win.

Pines led the Hawks (2-2, 1-0 USA South) with a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Isaiah King added 13 points, Barker followed with 11 points and Harris finished with 10 points. Barker was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

The two teams battled evenly in the first half before Piedmont carried a 36-30 lead into halftime. The Lions built their largest lead of the game, 48-36, a little more than four minutes into the second half. From there, Huntingdon began to chip away at the lead.

Trey Livingston cut Piedmont's lead to three points, 58-55, with a pair of free throws with 7:51 to play before a pair of free throws by Bryant Reid gave the Hawks their first lead of the second half, 63-62, with 4:33 to play.

Records: Huntingdon (2-2, 1-0 USA South); Piedmont (0-6, 0-2 USA South)

Coming Up: Huntingdon plays at Covenant on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. (Central).