MEN’S BASKETBALL

The #17 Forester men’s basketball team got back on track over Thanksgiving break with an 81-54 win over Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon at McKenna Arena. The victory comes on the heels of four straight losses as Alford and crew move to 3-4 on the season.

The two teams started meeting up in 2008 and have played five times with HU topping the Saints each time.

After Holy Cross scored on their opening possession, Lane Sparks scored eight of his 12 points in the first eight minutes to spearhead a 21-2 run for a 17-point spread of 21-4 by the 11-minute mark. Mitchell Wilson capped off spurt with the first of Huntington’s eight threes in the contest.

The senior sharpshooter added a second trifecta three-and-a-half minutes later for the frame’s largest disparity of 26-7. It was the difference the Foresters took into the locker room, 40-21, having nearly doubled up Holy Cross by holding their hosts to just nine field goals through the first 20 minutes.

The Saints were never able to cut into Huntington’s advantage with at least 19 points separating the two teams after intermission. While the lead hovered around 20 points throughout the second half, Joel Dyer scored five points in the final 1:20 for a final push that saw HU’s lead balloon to 27 by the final buzzer.

Zach Goodline did a little bit of everything for HU by pouring in a game-leading 20 points, handing out five assists and posting two rebounds and two steals. Jackson Paul scored ten of his 11 points in the second half. Landen Jordan tossed in nine points and ripped down a game-best 13 rebounds to just miss out on a double double.

Wilson came off the bench to add eight points while Landon Biegel subbed in as well to drop in a pair of threes for six points. Drew Goodline also hit two from downtown to finish with six points on the afternoon.

Holy Cross landed two in double digits with Justin O’Neal racking up 17 points and Isaiah Cabrera adding 16.

It was a cleanly played contest with the two teams combining for a mere 13 miscues with Huntington committing a season-low five TOs. HU shot 46.9 percent from the floor (28-for-66) and 92.3 percent from the line (17-for-19) while limiting the Saints to 34.6 percent shooting (20-for-59). Holy Cross got to the line 14 times where they scored nine points.

The Foresters back to the Mishawaka area on Wednesday to face Bethel at 7:30 p.m.