MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Forester men’s basketball team (18-8, 7-7) got the job done Saturday afternoon on both ends of the floor to pick off one of the nation’s best in #16 Saint Francis, 88-74, in a crowded Platt Arena.

It’s HU’s second big victory over a ranked opponent in the last three weeks as Alford and crew knocked off #9 Grace by the same score on January 15. The W also snapped a five-game win streak USF (20-6, 10-4) held over Huntington.

Offensively, the Foresters were a picture of efficiency having sizzled the nets to the tune of 54.1 percent (33-for-61) from the field which included knocking down ten threes at a clip of 43.5 percent. A key to their success was pounding the ball inside as evidenced by 44 of their points coming from the paint. They also canned 12 of their 13 free throw attempts and committed just seven blunders on the day which ties a season low.

Zach Goodline led the HU charge with 23 points and five assists. Caleb Middlesworth missed just two shots on the night on the way to netting 17 points. Ben Humrichous added 12 points to go along with six boards. Lane Sparks also pulled down six rebounds and chipped in nine points.

Huntington was just as impressive at the defensive end where they held the Cougars 12 points below their season average. Not surprisingly, the Foresters homed in on stopping the nation’s ninth leading scorer in Antwaan Cushingberry and their focus paid off.

The 5-8 guard, who came into the contest averaging nearly 24 points in league play, scored just 13 points, the fewest allowed by any CL team this season. While holding Cushingberry in check was a team effort, Joel Dyer spent the most time hounding him. The sophomore guard also drained a pair of threes during his 26 minutes of action.

David Ejah led USF with 22 points and nine rebounds while Dan McKeeman tossed in 12.

After swapping the lead five times and drawing even with their visitors six times through the first 18 minutes, the Foresters spent the final two minutes of the period piecing together an 8-1 run that included Goodline dropping in a pair of threes, one at the buzzer, for a 42-35 advantage by the halfway point.

Just over two minutes into the second frame, Middlesworth canned his third triple of the night to give his team a double-digit lead, 49-38, that stuck. HU stretched their advantage to as many as 20 points midway through the half before settling for the 14-point win.

“This was a great team win in front of an awesome home crowd,” said Coach Kory Alford. “I thought our guys showed great toughness and I was very proud of our defensive effort. Saint Francis is one of the most efficient offenses in the country and I thought we were able to make it difficult for them to score most of the day.

“We had a lot of great performances this afternoon, but I was especially proud of Joel. He’s been patient all year and has continued to work hard and have a great attitude which helped him have his moment.”

Next up for Huntington is a brawl with #5 IWU at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday at Luckey Arena.