by Taylor Hodges

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Eagles got their season rolling with a 88-42 win against Selma University in the Jimmy Faulkner Classic on Friday night.

Faulkner jumped out to an early 6-0 to start the game, but the Bulldogs were able to close that gap rather quickly.

Both teams hit a cold spell near the middle of the half, and neither squad was able to pull away from the other.

The Eagles were able to take a 35-25 lead into the half despite going 0-14 from behind the three-point arc.

Earvin Perroni and Sean Edwards led the way in scoring with eight points each. Logan Jozwiak added seven rebounds.

Jozwiak sparked the Eagles the start the second half with an electric dunk, which was the result of a Lucas Luttrell steal. That was later followed by Edwards knocking down the first three-pointer of the game for Faulkner, and the Eagles jumped to a quick 15-point lead.

The Eagles offense finally got things going in the second period, extending their ten-point halftime lead and never looking back.

Marquis Grays caught fire in the second half, which kindled the massive gap between the two teams, and he finished with a team-high 15 points.

While the offense started to knock down the shots it was missing in the first half, it was the defense that really anchored the way the Eagles played to finish off the Bulldogs, forcing 24 turnovers, 11 of which were steals.

"When we play on both ends of the floor, we are capable of wins like this," head coach Scott Sanderson said. "We have 10 guys that can play, and there's not a huge drop off, and I like that aspect of our team."

Faulkner was able to turn things around from three, going 9-for-17 in the second half after not making a single attempt in the first half.

Earvin Perroni finished the game with a double-double, tallying 13 points and adding 11 rebounds. Edwards finished with 14 points in his Eagle debut.

Faulkner will take on Coastal Georgia in the second round of the Classic tomorrow starting at 7 p.m.