MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Huntington men’s basketball team got behind the eight ball Tuesday night to eventually concede an 80-71 road loss to #RV Spring Arbor (14-9, 5-6) at the McDonald Athletic Center.

Neither team could get much going in the opening ten minutes as the score stood at 19-13 in favor of the hosts at the midway point. No more than two possessions separated the two squads up to that point but that didn’t hold true much longer. The Cougars gradually started pulling away to enjoy a 32-22 advantage by the six-minute mark and proceeded to up their lead to 16 at 46-30 by the break.

Spring Arbor held on to their double-digit lead through the first 15 minutes of the final stanza until Peyton West and Hank Pulver put the team on their backs for one final push. Over a two-and-a-half-minute span, the pair teamed up to account for all but two points of a 12-0 run to turn a 17-point deficit into a 74-69 contest with 2:32 remaining.

It was an impressive comeback but unfortunately, SAU had the final say as they were able to cash in on two of their next three possessions to stop the bleeding and hold their visitors at arm’s length. At that point, the spread was seven points with just over 30 seconds to go. The Cougars would go on to bury a pair of freebies in the final few seconds to make for the nine-point difference by the end.

Both teams turned the ball over just seven times each. For the Foresters, it’s the ninth time this season and the third straight game they’ve posted single digits TOs.

Konner Platt missed just one shot on the night to finish with a team-high 16 points. Spencer Ballinger added 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Caleb Middlesworth tossed in 12 points while West posted ten points, nine rebounds and six assists.

While the Foresters shot an overall better percentage from the field (.476) then their hosts (.424), the glaring difference was what happened beyond the arc. HU, who entered the contest ranked 8th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.398), managed just two long balls on 18 attempts (.118) while their counterparts went 12-for-27 (.444) from deep.

Brandon Durnell topped SAU with 23 points. Jeff Beckman netted 16 points and grabbed a game-best 12 rebounds while Paul Marandet and Luke Barber added 15 and 12 points respectively.

With this loss, HU drops to 10-13 overall, 2-9 in league play. Next up for Platt and company is a 3:00 p.m. matchup with Grace at Platt Arena on Saturday.