Hawks Hot Shooting Takes Down The Blazers

JACKSON,Miss.- Huntingdon men's basketball (11-13 overall, 5-6 CCS) traveled to Belhaven and took down the Blazers 97-80 in a strong performance led by Hawks senior guard Max Gardner.

How it happened

First half

• The Blazers got out to a strong start, opening the night with a 4-0 run in the first 2 and a half minutes

• Myles Murphy gave the Hawks their first lead of the game at 7-6 with a layup at the 15:20 mark, but a Blazer triple gave Belhaven back the lead 9-7

• Belhaven pushed their lead to 23-16 by the 11:39 mark

• After trading baskets over the next couple of possessions, Huntingdon found themselves down 36-25 with 7 minutes remaining in the half

• A 9-2 Hawks run led by BJ Brown and Jeremy Autin cut the Belhaven lead to 42-39 with 3 minutes remaining until halftime

• Two free throws from Nate Johns closed the half with the Hawks closing in on the Blazers, down 46-43

Second half

• Continuing to battle in the second half, Huntingdon evened the score at 49 at the 17:42 mark off a layup from Randall Davis

• BJ Brown completed the Hawks comeback with a triple at the 13:41 mark, giving the Hawks a 61-60 lead

• Brown's triple sparked a 6-0 run for Huntingdon, with baskets from DaQuan Hawkins and Max Gardner pushing the Hawks lead to 66-60 with 11:27 remaining

• Not to be outdone, Belhaven went on a run to cut the lead to 70-66 with 8:57 remaining

• A 7-1 Hawk run capped off by a Max Gardner three pointer gave Huntingdon a 77-67 lead at the 7:55 mark

• A 6-0 run from the Blazers brought the score to 77-73, but Jaylen Washington drilled a huge three pointer to squash the run and bring the lead back to 80-73 with 5:21 remaining

• Huntingdon found a second wind late, going on a 11-2 run with baskets from Tate Goolesby, Nate Johns, and Max Gardner pushing the lead to 88-75 with 3 minutes to go

• Huntingdon closed out the game on a 7-3 run, taking a 97-80 victory

Key Notes

• Huntingdon was hot from the field, shooting 55% on their attempts

• The Hawks outscored Belhaven 40-22 in the paint

Hawk Top Performers

• #2 Max Gardner- 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists

• #4 BJ Brown- 18 points, 13 assists, 5 rebounds

• #3 Nate Johns- 14 points, 6 rebounds

The Hawks look to finish regular season conference play strong at home against LaGrange on February 17th. Tip off is set for 4:00 PM CT.