MEN’S BASKETBALL

It was sweet revenge for the HU men’s basketball team as they outlasted Saint Xavier 93-91 Saturday afternoon at the Shannon Center. The W not only avenged an 83-80 loss to the Cougars back on November 3 but also snapped a four-game win streak SXU held over HU dating back to 2016.

Peyton West posted big numbers for the Foresters with a double double of 12 points and 13 rebounds – both of which were career-highs. He took just five shots on the day, connecting on four from downtown, to make for an efficient day offensively. But perhaps his biggest play of the day came at the defensive end when he took a charge with 90 seconds remaining to prevent the Cougars from extending their lead from two to four.

Zac Owens and Tyler Arens were also a handful to handle as they poured in 21 and 20 points respectively while Konner Platt and Caleb Middlesworth added 17 points each. HU’s starting line-up ended up accounting for 87 of their team’s 93 points.

Just like the first time these two squads met this season, the lead traded multiple times with just one possession separating them by game’s end. What was different this time around was that Huntington held a lead most of the day. While the lead swapped back and forth six times, Platt’s crew enjoyed the advantage just shy of 34 minutes. The game was tied for nearly five minutes leaving SXU’s advantage spanning just over a minute.

Despite the score favoring the visitors most of the afternoon, the Cougars didn’t go down without a fight. The final three minutes had both sets of fans on the edge of their seats. Middlesworth put the Foresters up by four, 87-83, with a bucket down low at the 3:13 mark. It was just the second time in the previous ten minutes the lead extended beyond a single possession.

The Cougars responded with the first of back-to-back triples with a Platt reverse layup in between the two long balls. When all was said and done in that 45-second span, the score stood deadlocked at 89-89 with plenty of game yet to be played.

A missed three at HU’s end led to a fast break dunk by SXU’s Jack Brody to put the hosts up by two, 91-89, with just under two minutes to go. Huntington’s next shot was blocked after which, as mentioned previously, West came up with a huge stop by taking a charge. The Cougars wouldn’t score again.

On the ensuing possession, Arens got the ball on the right wing and maneuvered his way into the lane to knot things up at the 1:08 mark. Another defensive stop set up the game-winner by Platt who just like Arens, received the ball on the right side and made his way into the paint for an easy lay-in that proved the game’s last score.

Huntington finished with 46 points in the paint to Saint Xavier’s 20. HU also outscored their hosts on second chance points 16-8.

Brody finished with 28 points for SXU. Chris Soczek registered 21 points and Mike Shepski added another 18.

With this win, the Foresters, currently riding a three-game win streak, improve to 12-5 on the year. They turn their attention back to conference play by hosting Spring Arbor on January 5 at 3:00 p.m.