MEN’S BASKETBALL

The third-seeded Forester men’s basketball team rolled past sixth-seeded Mount Vernon Nazarene University 85-68 inside Platt Arena in quarterfinal action of the Crossroads League Tournament, ending any talk of the Cougars’ late-season surge before it could begin.

Mount Vernon entered the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the league, winners of five of its last six, including statement victories over then-#1 Grace and then-#11 Bethel. But HU made sure that momentum stopped at the door.

Just 15 seconds in, Keylane Lasisi scored on the block to set the tone. On the next trip, Cade Brenner buried a three. It was the spark of a 10-2 opening run that established Huntington’s urgency from the jump. The Foresters never looked back.

Matthew Spears drained a triple with 6:29 left in the half to push the lead to double digits for good. From there, the formula was simple: when Huntington wasn’t lighting it up from deep, Kaden Johnson was dominating the paint.

Behind a flawless 3-for-3 start from Landon Biegel and an 8-for-16 first-half effort as a team from beyond the arc, HU built a commanding 46-31 halftime advantage. Johnson was nearly automatic inside, pouring in 15 first-half points on 7-of-9 shooting with an and-one added to the mix.

A rare four-point play by Jackson Paul less than four minutes into the second half stretched the lead to 20. HU’s cushion grew to as many as 24 midway through the stanza, and while the Cougars trimmed the deficit late, the outcome was never in doubt.

Huntington finished the night shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three (13-of-31) while holding MVNU to just 36.1 percent overall and 20.7 percent from long range (6-of-29). The Foresters assisted on 14 of their 29 made field goals.

Johnson led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting and added 10 rebounds for a dominant double-double. Biegel was electric off the bench, scoring 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 5-of-7 from deep. Miles Good added 12 points and three steals, while Paul chipped in 11 points and four assists. Lasisi controlled the boards with 13 rebounds to go with nine points and two blocks.

For Mount Vernon, Trent Koning paced the Cougars with 14 points, while Devin Dreier added 13 off the bench. Abib Abib contributed 11 points and eight rebounds, and Peyton Heiss rounded out double-figure scorers with 10 points despite shooting struggles.

With the win, Huntington improves to 22-7 and extends its win streak over MVNU to 10 games, a streak that dates back to December of 2022. With tonight’s loss, Mount Vernon’s season comes to a close at 17-12.

Now it’s on to the semifinals. The Foresters will face second-seeded Indiana Wesleyan University Saturday at 3:00 p.m. inside Luckey Arena with a spot in Tuesday’s championship game on the line.