Huntingdon men’s basketball tips off with exhibition game at ASU

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon men's basketball team continued to make preseason progress Thursday night in an exhibition game at Alabama State University.

The Division I Hornets won the game 94-69, but Huntingdon head coach Mike Pugh was encouraged by the Hawks' performance.

"I'm proud of the way our guys battled tonight," Pugh said. "We weren't as concerned about the score tonight as we were about competing as a team and playing together.

"All 11 guys contributed. We played hard on defense, we battled on the boards and we were smart on offense. All of those are things we can build on."

Huntingdon led briefly in the first half and remained within eight points of the Hornets until the final four minutes of the first half. ASU took a 42-33 lead into the half and gradually pulled away in the second half.

Five players combined for 63 of Huntingdon's points. Jason Varney had a team-high 16 points and three assists and Austin Hill added 15 points and seven rebounds. Alex Layson finished with 13 points and three assists, Terry Moorer followed with 10 points and Dantavius Washington had nine points and five rebounds. Tyler Stubbs pulled down five rebounds.

Huntingdon opens the season on Nov. 15 against Emory & Henry in the Berry Classic. ASU opens the season on Nov. 8 at the University of Illinois.