Hawks Pass The Century Mark In Home Win Over Welch

MONTGOMERY, Ala.- In search of their first victory since their regular season-opener at Toccoa Falls, Huntingdon Men's Basketball managed to right the ship tonight inside Roland Arena, outpacing the Welch College Flames en route to a 107-89 victory. 

First Half

Despite what the box score might indicate, the opening minutes of tonight's matchup were controlled by Welch. The Flames hit the stride coming out of the gates offensively- grabbing control from the onset, but Andersen Madyun's pair of layups kept the Hawks within striking distance. Following seven consecutive points from Keyshawn Dickey, Huntingdon secured an 11-7 lead by the 14:23 mark. The Flames followed with a scoring spurt that evened things up by the 13 minute mark, but the Hawks answered with a 8-0 run, seeing baskets from Myles Johnson, Marcus Townsend, and Owen LaRocca to push their advantage to 19-11 with 12 minutes remaining in the half. Huntingdon managed to extend their lead to double-digits just four and a half minutes later, with Tyler Mallory and Jonathan Page spearheading an effort that brought the lead to as much as  36-25 by the 4:48 mark. The teams continued to trade blows offensively approaching halftime, but a pair Welch free throws brought the half to a close with the Hawks ahead 52-39. 

Second Half

The early stages of the second half mirrored what we saw in the first half, as the two teams battled back-and-forth with baskets on each end.  The Flames cut Huntingdon's lead to single digits following a pair of shots from beyond the arc, bringing the score to 58-50 by the 16:48 mark. From this point forward however, it was all Huntingdon, as the Hawks pieced together a stretch highlighted by three triples between Owen LaRocca and Jonathan Page that extended the lead to 78-61 by the 10 minute mark. Kendarius Irvin followed up shortly after with a three pointer of his own that pushed the advantage to 20, 81-61, but Welch quickly answered with a shot from deep to bring the difference back to 17. Once inside the 7 minute mark, Huntingdon found a second wind from their bench, seeing baskets from the likes of Sam Hailey, Jackson Murphy, Jaylon Stevenson, and Amarian Griffin coming down the stretch to put Welch away and secure the victory, 107-89. 

Hawk Top Performers

• #42 Andersen Madyun- 16 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks
• #24 Tyler Mallory- 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals
• #5 Keyshawn Dickey- 14 points, 4 rebounds
• #50 Myles Johnson- 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals

The Hawks will look to keep rolling tomorrow, November 22nd, as they travel to face Pensacola Christian. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM CT.