MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Oakwood broke open a close game late in the first half and then scored the first 11 points of the second before fighting off a furious Faulkner comeback en route to a 75-67 victory over the Eagles here Saturday night in the finale of the Jimmy Faulkner Classic at Tine Davis Gymnasium.

It was a two-point game in the final five minutes of the first half, but the Ambassador lead grew to 10 by halftime. The start of the second half was nightmarish for Faulkner, with the first 11 points going to Oakwood to push the advantage to 21. The biggest lead came at 52-30 with 14:09 left in the game, and then the Eagles steadily battled back. It was 13 with two minutes left, then the Eagles' Nick Drake hit back-to-back 3-pointers and a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 69-64 with 1:27 to play.

Faulkner (1-1) got the ball back after a missed free throw, but a travel call cost the Eagles a chance to draw closer. Maxwell Caines made a driving layup to push the lead back to seven, but Faulkner's Marquis Grays drained a 3-pointer to make it 71-67 with 38 seconds left. After Simeon Middleton made a pair of free throws for Oakwood, Faulkner failed to convert on its next possession to end any hopes.

The Ambassadors (1-1) shot 55 percent from the field, and outscored Faulkner 44-20 in the paint. The Eagles made only 38 percent of its field goal tries, despite making 43 percent of its 3-point attempts. Oakwood also outrebounded Faulkner 37-25.

Brandon Daniels led the Ambassadors with 21 points, while Dominic Pierre-Louis and Caines had 14 apiece. Ollie Felps added 12 for the victors. Drake's 19 points paced Faulkner, which also got 15 points and 11 rebounds from Monta Sanford.

"We just didn't get it done defensively, especially in the low post," Faulkner head coach Scott Sanderson said. "When they're scoring at will down low it just puts too much pressure on us on offense and we got too far behind to come back. You can't allow anybody to shoot 55 percent from the field and expect to win."

The Eagles got off to a slow start, with Caines fourth basket of the first half giving the Ambassadors a 21-12 lead with 9:15 left in the half. Faulkner trimmed the lead to two on a pair of occasions, but Oakwood's timely shooting kept it in control for much of the remainder of the half. A Jose Jimenez basket with 5:41 left in the period brought the Eagles to within 23-21, only to see the Ambassadors close the opening 20 minutes on a 12-4 run to grab the double-digit lead at the break.

Oakwood shot 50 percent in the first half, while Faulkner made only 38 percent of its field goal attempts. Of its 35 first-half points, 22 came in the paint for the Ambassadors. Oakwood also had six second-chance points, while Faulkner failed to convert a second-chance opportunity in the first half. For the game, the second-chance totals were 18 for Oakwood to just one for the Eagles.