MEN’S BASKETBALL

The matchup between the 17-ranked Forester men’s basketball team and Madonna started off as a dogfight Wednesday night with the Crusaders eventually creating a little space for themselves midway through the second half to sneak out of Platt Arena with a 95-86 win.

The game featured 19 lead swaps and seven ties before the guests decided enough was enough. Consecutive threes gave Madonna (3-2) gave them a permanent lead of 67-64 with just over ten minutes to go. It was the start of a four-minute 17-2 run that ended with the Crusaders enjoying their largest advantage of the evening at 78-66 by the eight-minute mark.

Huntington responded with a run of their own spearheaded by a pair of freebies and triple by Zach Goodline that pulled Huntington within two at 78-76 with just over six minutes remaining. Unfortunately, the cheers quickly subsided as MU had the final say by immediately piecing together a 10-2 spurt that padded their lead back to double figures to which Alford and crew had no answer.

The battle that was the first half ended with Jackson Paul picking off a pass and taking it coast-to-coast for an and one with six ticks remaining to send his team into intermission up 42-40. The Foresters fed off the scrappy play of Jackson to start the second half. Seven minutes into the period, HU’s lead was six. It matched their largest advantage of the contest but alas they couldn’t get it to stick.

Goodline finished with 22 points to lead HU. Lane Sparks added 18. Landen Jordan finished with 17 points and seven rebounds while Gage McGuire and Paul tossed in 14 and 11 points respectively. Goodline and Paul combined for nine of their team’s 14 steals.

Offensive efficiency favored the visitors. Madonna shot 52.6 percent for the game (30-for-57) which included knocking down 13 threes while the Foresters shot 45.6 percent (31-for-68) and managed just five from deep as part of their shooting woes.

Brendan Young poured in 26 points to enjoy game-high scoring honors. Other double digit scorers for the Crusaders included Isaac Anderson (19), Ethan Emerzian (13), Devin Dunn (12) and Sho-Ron Graham (10).

The Foresters (2-2) hit the road for the first time this season on Saturday to take on Olivet Nazarene at 5:00 p.m.