Box Score MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Middle Georgia State grabbed control less than four minutes into the game here Saturday afternoon, and Faulkner could never recover as the Eagles saw their six-game Southern States Athletic Conference winning streak come to an end in a 94-87 loss to the Knights at Tine Davis Gymnasium.
The Eagles' woes were do in large part due their inability to hit shots from behind the arc and to rebound. Faulkner (13-12 overall, 7-6 SSAC) missed 20 of their first 21 3-point attempts before Nick Drake knocked down three from long range in the closing minutes. The rebounding differential was substantial, with the Knights gathering 51 to the Eagles' 39. A 12-2 stretch midway through the first half gave Middle Georgia State a 23-12 advantage and although the Eagles trimmed the deficit to two late in the half, the Knights stretched it out again and took a 46-38 lead to the break.
The closest Faulkner would get in the second half was five points, with Middle Georgia State's biggest lead coming at 76-60 after a Cory Reid three-point play with 6:12 to play.
"The start of the game killed us," Faulkner head coach Scott Sanderson said. "We made mistake after mistake defensively early in the game, and we were battling uphill from there. And when you have to fight so hard to try and get back in the game, you lose your legs and that affects your shooting. We've been winning because we've been playing defense and rebounding, and we didn't do either well tonight. Middle Georgia has a very good team, and we needed our best effort and we didn't get it."
Faulkner's Di'mar Hill was spectacular despite the loss, scoring a career-best 33 points, dishing out 10 assists and grabbing eight rebounds. The junior point guard did not commit a turnover in over 37 minutes of action. Monta Sanford added 17 points and seven rebounds, while Logan Jozwiak had a double-double with 10 points and 13 boards. Nick Drake was also in double figures for the Eagles with 15. Kieston Standfield, the SSAC's two-time Player of the Week, led Middle Georgia State with 19 points and 13 rebounds. David Bivins was next with 17, followed by Joe Howard's 16 and Ryan Wilkins' 15. Howard also had 10 rebounds for the Knights (12-5 overall, 10-3 SSAC), who stayed a game back of league-leader William Carey with the victory.
The Eagles are in a five-way tie for third place in the SSAC standings.
Faulkner visits crosstown rival Auburn Montgomery next Saturday afternoon in a rematch of a game the Eagles hosted and won 81-71 last week. The game tips off at 4 p.m.
