Hawks get by LaGrange for third conference win

LAGRANGE, Ga. – The Huntingdon men's basketball team came through with a 78-77 win over LaGrange on Wednesday night.

The Hawks took the lead for good on a layup and a free throw by Damien Madison with 31 seconds remaining and held off the Panthers on defense. LaGrange's final two possessions ended in turnovers.

Caleb Toney made a steal with 24 seconds left for one turnover. The Panthers' final turnover came with one second on the clock.

The win was the Hawks' fifth in games decided by five points or less this season and the fourth straight game to be decided by five points or less.

In a game where neither team led by more than eight points, Huntingdon and LaGrange changed leads eight times and were tied seven times. The two teams were separated by more than five points for less than four minutes of the game.

Huntingdon trailed 44-40 at halftime and trailed by its largest deficit, 48-40, in the first 65 seconds of the second half. The Hawks regained the lead, 65-64, on a layup by Charvez' Hobson with seven minutes to play. A layup by Madison and two free throws by Madison gave the Hawks a 69-64 lead.

After a pair of free throws by LaGrange, Huntingdon took its largest lead of the game, 72-66, on a 3-pointer by Jacob Champion with 4:01 to play.

LaGrange used a 9-0 run to take a 75-72 lead with 1:33 to play but James Harris answered with a 3 for Huntingdon to tie the game with 1:09 left. LaGrange took its final lead of the night, 77-75, with 55 seconds remaining before Madison put the Hawks ahead for good.

Madison led Huntingdon with 18 points and three assists and Harris had 14 points and four assists. Champion finished with 12 points and Hobson added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Mykel Woods had three blocks.

Records: Huntingdon (6-7, 3-3 USA South); LaGrange (3-9, 2-3 USA South)

Coming Up: Huntingdon plays at Piedmont on Saturday at 3 p.m. (Central).