MEN’S BASKETBALL

It wasn’t exactly how the Huntington men’s basketball team wanted to wrap up 2017 as they suffered a 94-76 loss to Saint Xavier University Saturday afternoon at the Shannon Center. The loss is the second time this season the Cougars have topped the Foresters with the first, a 96-89 decision, dating back to November 1.

The first eight minutes was a bit slow going with the score standing at 12-11 favoring the hosts but SXU’s first long ball of the afternoon at the 11:40 mark was the first sign of what was to come. The Cougars picked apart the Foresters’ defense the rest of the half, scoring 18 points from the perimeter while also scoring 28 points in the paint on the way to pulling away for a 50-34 lead by halftime.

Tyler Arens scored half his team’s points in the first period by netting 17 points on 8-for-12 shooting. He would go on to add another 16 in the final twenty minutes to finish with a game-best 33 points. It marks the third time this season the 6-8 forward has scored at least 30 points.

Saint Xavier’s lead remained in double digits the rest of the way with their advantage ballooning to as many as 28 points, 81-53, with just under nine minutes remaining. Behind Arens and Mike Bush, HU made up some ground over the next four minutes by piecing together a 14-2 run to close to within 16 before playing even with their hosts the rest of the way for the 18-point final spread. The two accounted for all but three points of the run, a triple by Devon Merder.

Arens was the only Forester to tally double digits. Konner Platt chipped in nine points, Bush finished with eight points and handed out four assists while Zac Owens came off the bench to add seven points.

Quinn Niego had a big game for the Cougars by posting 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting which included hitting all three of his three-pointers to go along with a game-high nine rebounds. Jack Brody registered 20 points and four assists while Tyler Diehl collected 11 points for SXU.

Huntington made good on 29 of their 59 shot attempts for 49.2 percent but struggled a bit from behind the arc by going 5-for-20. Platt’s crew connected on 81.3 percent of their freebies (13-for-16). SXU had the hot hand throughout the day, shooting 58.3 percent from the field (35-for-60) which included knocking down seven of their 14 threes and were near perfect from the line where they went 17-for-18.

The Foresters (6-10) return to league action on Wednesday by hosting Taylor University at 8:00 p.m.