Huntingdon's 17-0 Game-Opening Run Makes Way For Massive Conference Victory

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga.- Coming off a two-point road victory at Piedmont, Huntingdon men's basketball faced the Covenant College Scots for their second consecutive conference matchup on the road. Boosted by a 17-0 run to start the game, Huntingdon jumped out to a big lead early and never looked back, claiming a 103-74 victory.

First Half

• Seeing baskets from 6 different Hawks(Jaylen Washington, RayQuan Taylor, Marcus Townsend, Martise Jackson, Donovan Wilson, and Myles Murphy), Huntingdon opened the game on a 17-0 run through the first five minutes. On the run, the Hawks forced four Covenant turnovers, turning defense into easy offense on the other end. 
• Covenant tried to battle back with a 5-2 run, but layups from Nate Johns and Martise Jackson kept Huntingdon in front 23-9
• Murphy and Washington joined for four consecutive points at the 7:23 mark to push the Hawks lead to 20, 32-12
• Still pouring it on, the Hawks pieced together a 6 point swing at the 4 minute mark to extend their lead even further, making the score 45-18
• Taylor threw down his fourth dunk of the first half with 14 seconds remaining to push the Hawks halftime lead to 51-22

Second Half

• The second half began much like the first, with Tate Goolesby cashing in at the 18:35 mark to extend the lead to 57-25
• BJ Brown, Nate Johns, and RayQuan Taylor all found their rhythm, joining in on a run that pushed Huntingdon's lead to 64-30 by the 15:39 mark
• Taylor's fifth dunk of the night at the 10:52 mark brought the Hawks advantage to 76-43
• Covenant brought the score within 30, 82-54, with 6:46 to go, but the Hawks were relentless, putting up a season-high 103 points to walk away with the road CCS victory.

Key Notes

• The Hawks were hot all night, shooting 58% from the field for the game
• 14 players on Huntingdon's roster found their way on the scoreboard
• Huntingdon's defense controlled the pace of the game throughout the night, limiting Covenant to 31% shooting from the field while forcing 14 turnovers
• 72 of the Hawks points came from the painted area

Hawk Top Performers

• #33 RayQuan Taylor- 25 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks
• #3 Nate Johns- 18 points, 4 rebounds
• #10 Myles Murphy- 9 points, 5 rebounds
• #24 Jaylen Washington- 12 points, 2 rebounds

The Hawks look to carry their momentum into a home showdown with Asbury on January 17th. Tipoff is set for 6:00 PM CT.