MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Huntington men’s basketball team stretched its win streak over Taylor University (11-10, 3-6) to four Tuesday night by handing their hosting an 88-85 loss in Odle Arena. The win also snaps HU’s five-game skid as they improve to 10-11 overall, 2-7 in league play.

The Foresters enjoyed huge performances from Caleb Middlesworth, Konner Platt and Hank Pulver. The trio combined to score 75 of their team’s 88 points with Middlesworth erupting for a season-tying 33 points. He also pulled down six rebounds, half of which were offensive.

Platt poured in 25 points to go along with three steals while Pulver added 17 points and dished out five assists. Between the three of them, they drained 11 triples on 19 attempts to sizzle the nets at a clip of nearly 58 percent from beyond the arc.

The opening 20 minutes was an all-out brawl as both teams jockeyed for the advantage. The half featured two ties and 14 lead changes with a gap never stretching beyond two possessions. Huntington ended up scoring on every possession in the final three minutes of the period to turn their four-point disadvantage into 45-40 lead by recess.

The spurt served them well heading into the final 20 minutes as Platt and company came out of intermission poised and in control. Apart from four deadlocks and a handful of one-point deficits, the Foresters held the upper hand. The four ties spanned just over two minutes in the middle of stanza while Taylor’s last lead at 70-69 came with 5:47 remaining.

HU answered with seven straight points which included buckets in the paint by Middlesworth and Platt and a long ball by Lewis Wang for a 76-70 advantage with four minutes remaining. The visitors would up their lead to as many as seven with 1:34 to go after which Platt dropped in his fourth and final three of the evening and then buried a pair of freebies in the waning seconds to secure the W.

Mason Degenkolb paced TU with 25 points. Other double-digit scorers for the Trojans included Ryan Robinson (20), CJ Penha (17) and Vincent Miranda (10).

The Foresters will look to avenge their loss a few weeks ago to Saint Francis by hosting the Cougars on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.