Hawks Fall In Overtime Battle With Albion

ATLANTA, Ga.- In their first action following the Christmas holiday, Huntingdon men's basketball took on the Albion University Briton at Oglethorpe University. The Hawks fell behind in the first half, bur found a second wind late in regulation before an Albion triple forced overtime. Ultimately, the Hawks couldn't complete their comeback efforts, falling 85-78.

First Half

• Neither team found much of a rhythm offensively as things got underway, with each defense controlling the pace early on. Nonetheless, Albion led 6-2 through the first three minutes
• Huntingdon got back in front 8-7 by the 14:53 mark courtesy of layups from BJ Brown, Martise Jackson, and RayQuan Taylor. 
• After a Briton run put Albion back in the lead 12-8, Myles Murphy and Jeremy Autin combined to even the score at 12 with 12:22 remaining in the half
• As the half continued, the two teams found themselves deadlocked- trading baskets and stops on each end. By the 7:24 mark, the two teams were still locked into a 19-19 tie
• With Huntingdon holding on to a 23-22 lead, Albion pieced together a 7-0 run that saw the Briton claim a 29-23 advantage by the 2:20 mark
• To end the half, Huntingdon put together a 8-0 run of their own, seeing contributions from Jaylen Washington, BJ Brown, Nate Johns, and Martise Jackson to take a 31-29 lead into the halftime break

Second Half

• As the second half got underway, Albion kicked things off with a 7-1 run to reclaim the lead 36-32
• Not to be outdone, the Hawks responded with a 7-2 run of their own, giving Huntingdon a 39-38 lead by the 17:11 mark
• After trading baskets for the majority of the half, a pair of Martise Jackson free throws put the Hawks ahead 50-49 by the 9:34 mark
• The Briton responded with a 12-0 run over the course of the following four minutes, putting Albion back in front 61-50
• Clawing back into things, consecutive triples from BJ Brown saw Huntingdon cut Albion's lead to 64-61 with 2:50 remaining in regulation
• After Brown sank a shot from the free throw line to even things at 64, Jaylen Washington jumped a passing lane and got the steal and converted the and-one on the other end, giving Huntingdon the 67-64 lead with a minute remaining in regulation
• In the final seconds, Albion sank a heave from deep, tying things at 67 and forcing Huntingdon's second overtime in four games

Overtime

As the overtime period got underway, Albion got out to a 72-67 lead with a 5-0 run by the 3:22 mark. BJ Brown drilled two free throws on the other end to bring Huntingdon back within three, but Albion still led 78-70 with a minute to go. Brown continued to light it up, scoring five more points as the Hawks continued to battle, but ultimately Huntingdon would run out of time, taking the 85-78 loss

Key Notes

• Through overtime, this matchup featured 24 ties and 46 lead changes
• Huntingdon outrebounded Albion 56-49, but the Briton capitalized at a higher rate from both the three point line and charity stripe
• The Hawks forced 23 turnovers, 16 of which came by way of steals, and capitalized for 23 points on the break

Hawk Top Performers

• #4 BJ Brown- 32 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists
• #11 Martise Jackson- 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists
• #32 Jeremy Autin- 11 rebounds, 3 points

The Hawks look to bounce back tomorrow, December 30th, against Luther. Tip-off is set for 1:00 PM CT.