Men's Basketball Drops Nailbiter At Home Against Belhaven

MONTGOMERY, Ala.- Returning to action following a dominant road victory over Welch College, Huntingdon men's basketball hosted Belhaven University for the first matchup between the two teams this season. After a highly contested, back-and-forth affair, the Hawks came up just short to the Blazers, falling to the CCS front-runners 71-67.

First Half

• Neither team could find their footing offensively coming out of the gates, with the Blazers holding a slight 4-0 advantage by the 17:43 mark
• Trailing 8-4, Nate Johns cashed in on consecutive layups, setting off a 7-0 run capped off by a Martise Jackson layup that put Huntingdon in front 11-8
• Trading baskets through the greater part of the half, back-to-back Myles Murphy three-pointers put a stamp on an 8-0 Hawks run, putting Huntingdon in front 27-20 with 5:25 to go until halftime
• The Blazers pieced together a 9-0 run across the next four minutes to reclaim the lead, 29-27 entering the final minute of the half
• Free throws from BJ Brown and Nate Johns followed by a Randall Davis layup gave Huntingdon the lead, 32-31 at halftime

Second Half

• Jaylen Washington caught fire coming out of the halftime break, knocking down consecutive triples to keep the Hawks in front 38-36 through the opening three minutes of the half
• Belhaven reclaimed the lead at the 16:26 mark after a 4-0 swing, but Randall Davis put in another layup to even things at 40 shortly after
• Even at 43, the Blazers scored 4 uncontested points to extend their lead to 47-43, but five consecutive points from Marcus Townsend kept Huntingdon within striking distance, as the Hawks trailed 49-48 with 11:45 to go
• Martise Jackson knifed through the lane at the 7:41 mark, putting a stop to a 7-3 Belhaven run and cutting the Blazers lead to 56-53 with 7:41 remaining
• BJ Brown's layup with 6:53 to go evened things at 58
• Jackson continued to shoulder the load for Huntingdon's offense, converting on an and-one to give Huntingdon their first lead since the 17 minute mark in the second half, 61-60 with 5 minutes to go
• The Blazers regathered their lead 63-61 on the following possession, but a free throw from Jackson brought the score to 63-62 with 4 minutes to go
• Trailing 66-62 with 2:31 to go, Nate Johns put in a short jumper to cut the deficit to just two, 66-64, but the Blazers answered to bring their lead back to 4, 68-64 just inside the two minute mark
• BJ Brown drilled a contested shot from deep to cut the Belhaven lead to 68-67 with 37 seconds to go, but despite multiple opportunities, the Hawks couldn't complete the comeback, falling 71-67

Key Notes

• Each squad's defenses controlled the pace of the game, with the Hawks shooting 39% from the field compared to Belhaven's 36%
• Huntingdon turned the ball over 17 times compared to the Blazers' 9
• This matchup featured 8 ties and 18 lead changes

Hawk Top Performers

• #3 Nate Johns- 7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks
• #4 BJ Brown- 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals
• #11 Martise Jackson- 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

The Hawks look to bounce back on Friday, February 7th, traveling to face Maryville. Tip-off is set for 5:00 PM CT.