MEN’S BASKETBALL

– Points came easy Tuesday night in the HU men’s basketball team’s home opener against Wright State Lake. Both teams went over the century mark in the offensive showdown with the final score favoring the hosts 112-103.

The win is Huntington’s fourth straight over the Lakers. While the average margin of victory over the last three years has been nearly 30 points, tonight was a different story. A new coach and an overhauled roster has made for a much-improved Wright State Lake squad.

With three games under their belt, the Lakers entered the evening averaging 102 points per outing. That trend continued in Platt Arena. Within the first six minutes, the visitors had already dropped in five triples for an early 23-16 advantage. Three minutes later the lead extended to 13, 35-22, which proved their largest advantage of the night.

While the opening ten minutes favored Wright State Lake, Huntington turned things around to erase the lead by the 4:00 minute mark for a 43-43 deadlock and then kicked it up another notch to finish the period on a 16-3 run for a 59-48 halftime lead. When all was said and done, the first frame saw the Foresters enjoy a 24-point swing in the final ten minutes.

Zac Owens led the charge with 16 of his career-best 31 points. Konner Platt tossed in 15 points while Caleb Middlesworth collected 11 as the threesome accounted for all but 17 of their team’s first half points.

The Foresters’ advantage hovered around ten points for the first five minutes of the second period before the Lakers came charging back to reclaim a 77-76 lead by the midway point. Their lead stuck for the next two and a half minutes until Owens gave the Foresters a permanent advantage of 87-85 when he drained this third trey of the night with 7:08 remaining.

Wright State Lake would trim it to one four times with the last at the 1:12 mark. Owens gave his team a little breaking room on the ensuing possession with a bucket late in the shot clock and then began the march to the free throw line where Platt’s crew canned six straight to finish out the night for the final nine-point spread.

In addition to his 31 points, Owens rounded out his impressive performance with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Platt finished with 24 points. Tyler Arens logged the game’s only double double with 20 points and a game-best ten rebounds. Middlesworth posted 17 points while Nick Macon added eight points and dished out five assists.

Five Lakers scored in double digits with Chaz Hardin leading the way with 23 points. Patrick McClendon added 21 points. Byron Taylor chipped in 19 while Antonio McQueen and Tyrone Auzenne registered 13 and 12 points respectively.

HU (2-0) is back in the friendly confines of Platt Arena on Saturday to host St. Xavier at 3:00 p.m.