MEN’S BASKETBALL

The HU men’s basketball team proved a handful for the nation’s top-ranked team in Spring Arbor (6-2, 1-0) on opening night of league play. While the Foresters never held a lead, they stayed within striking distance of last year’s national champions before succumbing to an 88-78 loss Tuesday night at Platt Arena.

The loss drops HU to 4-4 overall, 0-1 in league play. Three of Huntington’s losses this year have been to Top 15 teams.

Peyton West had a breakout night to post a career-best 23 points in addition to handing out three assists and swiping two shots. He buried five threes with none bigger than his fourth at the 4:04 mark of the second half that pulled his team within two possessions of the Cougars at 78-72. It capped off a three-and-a-half-minute stretch that saw HU whittle a 14-point difference down to six points.

It was the final push by the hosts as they got stuck on 72 for the next two minutes which allowed SAU to build back a double-digit lead that they would then ride out for the win.

The Foresters committed just six miscues on the night while forcing SAU into 14 blunders. It’s the third time this season HU has logged single digit turnovers. HU’s most notable feat though was outscoring their visitors by four in the second half. Platt’s crew went 20-for-31 from the field in the period to tickle the twine at a rate of 64.5 percent. Huntington finished 33-for-64 for the game for 51.6 percent which included knocking down nine long balls to their visitors’ six.

Konner Platt finished with 20 points while Caleb Middlesworth added 14. Spencer Ballinger did a little bit of everything for his team by collecting eight points, a team-high six rebounds, game-best five steals and two assists.

Brandon Durnell, a Fort Wayne native, topped all scorers with 28 points. Luke Barber came off the bench to toss in 22. Payton DeWIldt added 19 to round out SAU’s double-digit scorers.

The Foresters are back in Platt Arena next Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. matchup with Goshen.