MEN’S BASKETBALL

The #RV Huntington men’s basketball team pulled away in the second half to top Briar Cliff, 82–70, Friday night at the Newman Flanagan Center during the second annual GPAC/Crossroads League Challenge.

Powered by 12 three-pointers and 29 bench points, the Foresters (2–0) remain undefeated on the young season. The victory improved Coach Jauch’s career record against Briar Cliff to 2–0, with both meetings coming during his tenure at Huntington following last season’s 81–58 win in the inaugural challenge matchup.

The opening stanza featured five ties and seven lead changes as the teams traded punches early. Briar Cliff (1–1) claimed a 20–14 advantage midway through the half following a Jaxson Wingert triple, but Huntington responded with a game-changing 13–5 run. After back-to-back treys by Miles Good and Jay Reynolds, Cade Brenner ripped off five straight points to pull HU even at 25–25, before Miles Good knocked down consecutive free throws to push the Foresters back in front. Late first-half contributions off the bench from Max McComb and Reynolds pushed Huntington’s lead to 11 at 39–28 before the Chargers added a late basket to send HU into halftime ahead 39–30.

Huntington blew the game open early in the second period with a perimeter barrage. Brenner buried back-to-back three-pointers out of the locker room to push the margin to 48–32. Minutes later, Treigh Schelsky connected from deep before Landon Richmond threw down a transition dunk at the 12:46 mark, capping an extended surge that gave the Foresters their largest lead of the night at 18 points (57–39).

Briar Cliff mounted a late push led by Wingert and Colby Collison, slicing the deficit to single digits at 69–60 with 4:51 remaining. However, Reynolds delivered a timely three-pointer on HU’s next possession to halt the momentum. Good, Brenner, and Reynolds combined to shoot 7-of-8 from the free-throw line over the final two minutes to seal the 12-point victory.

Huntington shot an efficient 48.0% (12-of-25) from beyond the arc and out-rebounded the Chargers 33–27 while forcing 16 turnovers. Four Foresters reached double figures in scoring. Brenner led the way with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting (4-of-7 3FG). Good added 15 points, three assists, and a steal, while Reynolds provided a major spark off the bench with 15 points (5-of-8 FG, 2-of-3 3FG). Freshman Keaton Lawson flirted with a double-double, finishing with 10 points, a game-high nine rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. Richmond added four points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Briar Cliff was paced by Wingert’s game-high 23 points and six rebounds, while Collison finished with 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

UP NEXT
HU closes out the GPAC/Crossroads League Challenge on Saturday when they face No. 25 Morningside at 5:00 p.m. EDT.