Hawks pull away in win over Berea

BEREA, Ky.  – The Huntingdon men's basketball team took the lead early and pulled away late in an 86-75 win over Berea on Sunday.

The Hawks took the lead in the first two minutes of the game and never trailed. But despite building a double-digit lead in the first half and second half, the Hawks had to hold off a push by Berea in each half.  

Leading by six points, 78-72, with a little more than four minutes to play in the game, Huntingdon used an 8-0 run to build a 14-point lead in the final minutes before Berea hit a final 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

Damien Madison and James Harris combined for 43 points to lead the Hawks. Harris finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Madison led all scorers with 22 points.

Jacob Champion added 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range and pulled down nine rebounds. Aaron Washington finished with 14 points, Caleb Toney had six rebounds and Mykel Woods had four blocks.

Huntingdon built a 16-point lead in the final 10 minutes of the first half, 28-12, before Berea answered with a 24-8 run to tie the game 36-36 with 1:24 left in the half. Huntingdon led 41-38 at halftime.

The Hawks pulled ahead to a 56-42 lead in the first four minutes of the second half before Berea answered with a 13-2 run to pull within three points, 58-55, with 12:33 left in the game.

From there, Huntingdon eased ahead to a 12-point lead. Berea pulled within six points in the final five minutes before the Hawks closed out the game.

Records: Huntingdon (10-10, 7-6 USA South); Berea (9-11, 5-8 USA South)

Coming Up: Huntingdon plays at Greensboro on Saturday at 1 p.m. (Central).