MEN’S BASKETBALL

The HU men’s basketball team picked up their 20th win of the year Tuesday night in Platt Arena by breezing past Goshen 87-67. It’s the program’s first 20-win season since 2013-2014 when the Foresters went 24-8.

The win also avenges a 63-62 road loss to the Maple Leafs (7-22, 3-14) the first time these two squads collided nearly a month ago. Compared to the last meeting where the lead toggled back and forth multiple times, tonight’s contest had a whole different feel as HU raced out to a 10-0 lead never to let their guests too close.

The lead stretched to as many as 21 in the first half before Huntington took a 45-28 lead into the locker room. Five minutes into the second frame, the lead was 25 but a pesky Maple Leaf crew kept clawing away at their deficit to eventually shrink it to 11 at 66-55 with just over eight minutes remaining.

Huntington finally put a stop to it by scoring the next five points to snuff out any intention GC had of a memorable finish. It was smooth sailing for the hosts after that as they continued to pull away for a 20-point spread by the final buzzer.

For senior Caleb Middlesworth, it was his last performance in Platt Arena, and he didn’t disappoint. The 6-8 forward finished with a game-tying 19 points to go along with four boards and two blocks. To date, Middlesworth has 1,754 career points and counting.

“Caleb has had an incredible career,” said Coach Kory Alford. “He has helped establish a winning culture for Forester basketball.

“He’s always been an efficient scorer but I’m most impressed with his willingness to step into a leadership role these last two years.”

Lane Sparks came off the bench to add 13 points and eight rebounds. Hank Pulver netted 12 points and pulled down five offensive boards. Ben Humrichous did a little bit of everything for his team by posting ten points, ten rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. It’s the sophomore’s third double double of the season.

Zach Goodline and Peyton West handed out six and five assists respectively to account for more than half of HU’s 20 assists on the night.

Gabriel McQuay paced Goshen with 19 points while Clayton MacLagan tossed in 11 and Michael Johnson finished with ten.

HU (20-9, 9-8) will play their last regular season game at Grace on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.