Hawks Fall In Heartbreaker At Millsaps

JACKSON, Miss.- Opening things back up after the Christmas break on the road, Huntingdon Men's Basketball kicked off the Millsaps Christmas Classic with a heartbreaking 73-71 loss to the host Majors. 

First Half

In a game that featured a total of 12 ties and 18 lead changes, the tone was quickly established in the first half as Millsaps squeaked out a 33-31 lead at the end of the first 20 minutes. Huntingdon's senior leadership led the way offensively early on, as a duo of Myles Murphy and Marcus Townsend combined for all of the Hawks 8 points through the first nine minutes. Their efforts brought about several small leads, but the Majors eventually battled back to grab a 12-8 advantage. Tyler Mallory joined on the scoring action shortly there after with shot from deep, but the two teams remained even at 19 following Jeremy Autin's first basket of the night at the 6:39 mark. Over the next minute and a half, Millsaps would go on a run that extended their lead to as much as 28-19, but baskets from Mallory and Eric Moore quickly brought the Hawks back within two, 29-27, nearing the 3 minute mark in the half. Trailing 33-29 coming down the stretch, Myles Murphy's layup inside the final minute brought Huntingdon's halftime deficit to two, 33-31.

Second Half

The second half saw more of the same, but it wasn't without it's fair share of struggle on both ends of the court for each side. Huntingdon hit their stride offensively early in the half, as Myles Murphy, Myles Johnson, and Andersen Madyun each contributed as the Hawks battled to take the lead, but the Majors maintained their two point lead at 41-39 by the 16:30 mark. Millsaps responded in a big way, pushing their lead back to seven(46-39) by the 14:33 mark before taking a 56-44 lead approaching the ten and-a-half minute mark. After falling behind by as much as 14, 63-49, with 7:40 remaining, Huntingdon rallied behind the offensive efforts of Owen LaRocca and Marcus Townsend, slowly cutting the lead over time before evening things at 67 by the 3 minute mark following LaRocca's triple. Down the stretch, the two sides traded baskets and stops to the tune of an even 71 with less than two minutes to go. A pair of free throws for the Majors handed Millsaps a two point lead with 32 seconds left, and the Hawks couldn't convert their opportunity on the other end, falling to 6-6 on the year. 

The Hawks have an opportunity to bounce back for their final game of the Millsaps classic tomorrow, December 29th, against Ozarks. Tipoff is set for 5:00 PM CT.