MEN’S BASKETBALL

The HU men’s basketball team advanced to the championship game of the annual Ness Bros. Hall of Fame Tournament by disposing of Calumet College of St. Joseph, 78-68, on Friday at Platt Arena.

It was Alford’s bench that got the job done on this given night behind Lane Sparks’ 17 points. The rookie guard finished 7-for-10 from the field which included knocking down three of his five attempts from deep.

Seven of Sparks’ points came at a critical point in the latter half of the game. After leading more times than not throughout the evening, the Foresters watched their advantage slip away when Levi Jackson went off for seven points in a 75-second span to spearhead a 9-2 run that made for a Calumet lead of 59-57.

Caleb Middlesworth got his team back on track with a triple from the top of the key after which Sparks rose above the rim for a dunk that sent the HU student section into a tizzy. It was the beginning of the end after that as it kickstarted a 15-2 run by Sparks and crew to reclaim their advantage in convincing fashion at 73-61 with five minutes to go.

Double-digits separated the two squads the rest of the way. When all was said and done, Huntington’s bench accounted for over half their team’s offensive production by scoring 41 points which included 12 points from Landen Jordan and eight from Mitchell Wilson. Jordan also collected a team-best nine rebounds. Ben Humrichous added 13 points as the only starter to finish in double figures for HU.

The opening 20 minutes saw Jordan scored nine of his 12 points by making good on three of his four shots from the floor and the charity stripe to carry Huntington into the locker room with a 41-32 lead. As a team, the Foresters shot 50.0 percent in the first period and shot nearly as well in the final stanza to finish 30-for-61 for the game for 49.2 percent.

“Our team showed great toughness tonight when shots weren’t falling,” said Coach Kory Alford. “We responded to each of their runs and were able to get stops when needed. Our bench stepped up and brought great energy all night.

“Landen did a great job rebounding and finishing at the rim. Lane and Mitchell were key to huge runs in both halves.”

The hosts (2-0) are back in action tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. to face Missouri Baptist in the title game.