Hawks come up short against West Division leader Covenant

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon men's basketball team battled Covenant College to the final seconds on Friday night.

But Covenant, the USA South West Division frontrunner, hung on to edge the Hawks 73-72.

Trailing by seven points with 2:10 to play, Huntingdon scored six straight points to close the gap and make it a one-point game in the final minute. But the Hawks' comeback ended just short with a missed shot to end the game.

Kyante Pines led Huntingdon with 16 points and nine rebounds and James Harris had 12 points, five assists and three steals. B.J. Barker finished with 11 points and Scotty Chadwick and Damien Madison each added eight points.

Huntingdon played from behind for most of the first half, but never trailed by more than six points in the opening half. After falling behind 37-31 with 2:57 left in the first half, Huntingdon gained momentum just before halftime and early in the second half.

During an 11-minute stretch, the Hawks outscored Covenant 31-13 and built a 12-point lead. A 3-pointer by Chadwick put Huntingdon in front 62-50 with 11:56 to play in the game.

But from there, the momentum began to turn toward Covenant. During the next seven minutes, Covenant scored 19 straight points to take a 69-62 lead. The Scots maintained at least a five-point lead until Huntingdon's push in the final two minutes.    

Records: Huntingdon (9-11, 6-7 USA South); Covenant (13-7, 12-1 USA South)

Coming Up: Huntingdon hosts Methodist on Saturday at 6 p.m.