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Senior Konner Platt erupted for a career-best 44 points Saturday afternoon of the Hoops for Hope Classic to carry his team to a 95-81 win over Holy Family College.
The 6-2 guard showed no bias in his scoring. In addition to knocking down six treys, one of which was a four-point play, he also tallied three and-ones, dropped in an additional four points from the charity stripe and scored six points in the paints while his other three field goals came by way of outside jumpers. When he wasn’t scoring, he was handing out dimes to rack up five by game’s end.
Caleb Middlesworth finished with 18 points as HU’s second leading scorer while Klajd Kiri, having recently worked his way into the starting line-up, registered ten points to go along with six rebounds. Spencer Ballinger collected ten of his team’s 38 rebounds and dished out a team-best six assists.
Holy Family, formally Silver Lake College, entered the day averaging nearly 8.5 made threes per game but they more than doubled that total against the Foresters. The Lakers canned 18 long balls at a clip of 45.0 percent to score more from long range than inside the arc. HFC finished with 11 two-point field goals.
While the Lakers’ accuracy from downtown kept things close throughout the first 35 minutes, it didn’t matter after that as HU’s execution down the stretch was near perfect. Down 74-73 with 4:45 to go, the Foresters scored on all but one possession the rest of the way starting with Platt’s rare four-point play to turn their deficit into a 14-point advantage. The turnaround saw Holy Family manage just seven points to HU’s 22.
Aside from their final push, Platt’s squad enjoyed an eight-point advantage near the end of the first half while the Lakers’ largest lead, a six-point difference, came at the 13:01 mark of the second frame.
Tydarius Fish came off the bench to drain six from deep to lead his team with 18 points. Other double-digit scorers for Holy Family included DeLoran Oliver (17), Byron Dean (16) and Bryanth Farr (10).
Several keys to Huntington’s success included limiting their miscues to a season-low five turnovers. They also converted ten Laker TOs into 15 points and turned in nine offensive boards for ten points. Additionally, Platt’s crew outscored HFC in the paint 34-18.
The Foresters return to the friendly confines of Platt Arena on Saturday to host #9 Madonna at 3:00 p.m.