Hawks Hang On To Defeat Asbury

WILMORE, Ky.- Coming off a loss to the Maryville Scots yesterday on the road, Huntingdon men's basketball traveled to face off with Asbury University.

After entering the locker room at halftime with a double-digit advantage, the Hawks survived a second half surge from the Eagles, sneaking away with a 81-78 victory to end a two-game losing streak.

First Half

• The Eagles drilled a three on their opening possession to go in front early, but the Hawks, led by Martise Jackson, stormed back with a 9-2 run to hold a 9-5 advantage by the 17 minute mark
• Soon after, the two teams began to trade baskets as they got deeper into the half. Seeing multiple ties, Jackson's three pointer at the 12:37 mark put Huntingdon ahead 19-16
• A freshman duo of Keyshawn Dickey and Eric Moore followed Jackson with three pointers of their own, raising Huntingdon's lead to as much as 25-18 around the midway point in the half
• Not to be outdone, Asbury battled back with consecutive three pointers to cut the Hawks lead to 29-27 before tying things at 30 with 7 minutes remaining until halftime
• At the 5:46 mark, Asbury capped off their run with a layup to take a 32-30 lead. Their lead proved to be short-lived however, with Marcus Townsend's triple on the other end putting Huntingdon back in front 33-32
• Tied at 36 with 3:20 to go in the half, the Hawks opened up an 11-0 run, largely in part due to excellent all-around play from Ray'Quan Taylor, to take a 47-36 lead into halftime

Second Half

• A 9-2 Asbury run to open the second half cut Huntingdon's lead to 49-45 by the 18:31 mark
• BJ Brown, Martise Jackson, and Jeremy Autin each followed with baskets of their own to raise Huntingdon's lead back to 8, 55-47 with 16:39 to go
• A 7-4 Eagle run following Autin's layup cut the Hawks lead to 59-54 with 13 minutes left in regulation
• By the 9:46 mark, Asbury had cut Huntingdon's lead to just 1, 61-60
• Baskets from Eric Moore and Nate Johns pushed the Hawks advantage back to 5, 65-60, sparking a Huntingdon run that put the Hawks ahead by 9, 71-62 with 6:33 to go
• Trailing 77-71 with three and a half minutes to go, the Eagles sank three consecutive free throws to cut Huntingdon's lead to 77-74. A Jeremy Autin layup combined with steady free throw shooting from BJ Brown proved to be enough, with the Hawks forcing a miss on Asbury's final attempt to tie the game, escaping with a 81-78 victory

Hawk Top Performers

• #4 BJ Brown- 12 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
• #11 Martise Jackson- 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
• #33 Ray'Quan Taylor- 14 points, 5 rebounds

The Hawks look to carry their momentum into a February 13th matchup with Belhaven University on the road. Tip-off is set for 6:00 PM CT.