MEN’S BASKETBALL

The No. 19 Forester men’s basketball team outlasted Milligan 56-50 Saturday afternoon at Platt Arenda to wrap up the annual Ness Bros. Hall of Fame Classic.

Offense was at a premium in the defensive battle between these two squads that were meeting for the first time in program history. HU managed just 18 field goals at a clip of 33.3 percent while limiting their guests to 31.7 percent shooting but giving up one more field goal.

Fifty points is the fewest points a Huntington squad has given up since a 99-44 win over Simmons College of Kentucky in December of 2021.

The contest featured eight ties and ten lead changes with the difference coming down to free throws and execution down the stretch. The Foresters got to the line nearly twice as often as the Warriors which included knocking down four freebies in the final 25 seconds to secure the win.

Jackson Paul hit a critical three at the four-minute mark that gave his team a 47-46 advantage to set Huntington up for success in the waning minutes. Milligan took back the lead at 48-47 with 2:26 remaining but the Foresters were near perfect after that to preserve their unblemished season at 3-0.

After Paul drained a pair of free throws followed by a defensive stop, Drew Goodline pulled the trigger on a three from the top of the key with the shot clock winding down that found nothing but the bottom of the net to up Huntington’s lead to 52-48 with 47 ticks remaining.

The Warriors scored quickly on their next trip down the court to make for a two-point ballgame but then began the march to the charity stripe where HU didn’t miss to extend the lead to 56-50 by the final buzzer.

Goodline finished with a game-best 16 points to go along with three steals. Paul tossed in 12 points while Landen Jordan posted ten points and seven rebounds. Maximus Gizzi ripped down a team-high nine boards in addition to scoring eight points and dishing out four dimes.

Milligan was led by McCaskill Rivers’ 13 points. Elijah Bredwood came off the bench to add 12 points as the only other Warrior to score in double figures. Handje Tamba corralled ten boards to garner game-high rebounding honors.

The Foresters hit the road for the first time this season on Wednesday to take on Lawrence Tech at 7:30 p.m.