Brown, Gardner lead Hawks past Piedmont

MONTGOMERY, Ala.- In their second CCS matchup of the season, Huntingdon men's basketball (8-7 overall, 2-0 CCS) defeated the Lions of Piedmont University in a high scoring affair, 95-81.

Highlights

First Half

• With the score even at 4, the Hawks caught fire, going on a 8-0 run punctuated with a layup from Jeremy Autin to take a 12-4 lead with 12:30 left in the half

• Two free throws from Max Gardner extended the Huntingdon lead to 16-6 at the 11 minute mark

• A layup from Nate Johns pushed the Hawk lead to 14, 25-11 with 9 minutes to go in the half

• A mid range shot from BJ Brown ended a 5-0 run from the Lions, maintaining the Huntingdon double digit lead 17-16 with 8:21 remaining in the half

• Three pointers from BJ Brown and Jaylen Washington extended the Huntingdon lead to 36-18 at the 5:41 mark

• Jaylen Washington's 4th three pointer of the matchup gave the Hawks a 48-29 lead with a minute remaining until halftime

•  Piedmont drilled a three pointer just before the buzzer to shrink the Huntingdon lead to 50-32 going into the break

Second Half

• Continuing the Hawks hot shooting, BJ Brown sank another triple on the opening possession of the second half to put Huntingdon ahead 53-32

• A 7 point run from the Lions reduced the Huntingdon lead to 60-45 with 15 minutes remaining in the matchup

• With just under 13 minutes to go, Piedmont sank a shot from the free throw line to put the Lions within 10, 66-56

• Piedmont shrunk the lead to single digits with 9:35 remaining in the game, 70-63

• Following possessions of trading baskets, a jumper from BJ Brown sparked a 7-0 Hawk run,extending the Huntingdon lead back to 89-75

• Two jumpers from Max Gardner in the final minute iced the game for the Hawks, giving them a 95-81 victory over the Lions.

Key Notes

• The Hawks 46% from the field and 42% from three

• Huntingdon outrebounded the Lions 50-44

• 28 points is a career high for Max Gardner
• BJ Brown recorded his first collegiate triple double

Hawk Top Performers

• #4 BJ Brown- 22 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 6 steals

• #2 Max Gardner- 28 points, 8 rebounds

• #24 Jaylen Washington- 15 points, 5 three pointers

• #3 Nate Johns- 11 points 5 rebounds

The Hawks look to continue their success in CCS play on January 12th at home against Maryville. Tip off is set for 7:00 PM CT.