Hawks Lose to Berea

Berea, Kentucky – The Hawks, now 1-15 overall and 0-4 in the CCS fell to the Mountaineers (10-7, 2-2) in their conference matchup 81-72.

The Hawks and Mountaineers both made 27 field goals for the game. The Hawks made six threes while Berea made 5. The Mountaineers made 10 more free-throws than the Hawks to push their way past in CCS play.

The first half began with a 6-0 run from Berea that was answered by freshman, Marcus Townsend. Berea continued to score as Townsend hit the first six points for the Hawks (11-6). Austin Linville sank a three with 13 minutes left to cut the lead to four-points and two minutes later, Nate Johns brought the score within one as he drilled a jump shot. Huntingdon was finally able to tie the game at 19 and then take the lead the next possession with a three-pointer from Townsend. That three would be answered by Berea with a short 5-0 run of their own. Hawks and Mountaineers exchanged buckets for the remaining 4-minutes of the first half, leaving the Hawks down two heading into halftime (30-28).

To begin the second half, Berea went on a 6-0 run in the first two minutes to extend their lead to 8. The Hawks followed up with a jump shot and another made three from Linville (38-35). Down by five, Huntingdon allowed the Mountaineers a 12-0 run, half of those points coming from the free-throw line. Leading scorer, Jeremy Autin nailed a three of his own to end the run but Berea returned down the court to make one of their own (53-38). Autin splashed another three as the Hawks went on a 7-2 run to bring the game back within 10. Following a Huntingdon timeout, Berea scored eleven points to push the lead back to 19. The Hawks continued to claw their way back and push the ball for quick baskets bringing the game back within eight points with 1:45 remaining (74-66). The Mountaineers timeout following a layup by Max Gardner led to five made free-throws for Berea that sealed the game.

Stat Leaders for Huntingdon:

#32 Jeremy Autin – 13 Points, 5 Rebounds

#2 Max Gardner – 12 Points, 5 Rebounds, 6 Assists

#30 Marcus Townsend – 11 Points, 6 Rebounds

The Hawks continue their CCS road trip tomorrow, January 14^th at Maryville College. Game time set for 3:00 PM CST.