by Taylor Hodges

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner's No. 24 men's basketball team (15-6, 7-4 SSAC) knocked out Southern States Athletic Conference rival Bethel University 75-65 in a physical matchup on Saturday afternoon at Tine Davis Gymnasium.

The Eagles never trailed in the matchup, as they seemed to always find a way to answer when the Wildcats would try to make a run.

Faulkner led by as many as 11 in the first half, and Bethel had no answer for the Eagles' leading scorer in Marquis Grays, who had 15 points in the first period, which including three made baskets from behind the arc.

The second half got a bit chippy, and both teams spent a lot of time at the free-throw line. 22 of Faulkner's 43 points in the period came from the charity stripe.

Bethel was able to get the game to within five with less than 40 second remaining, but clutch free throws down the stretch from C.J. Jones, Earvin Perroni and Sean Edwards put the game out of reach.

Grays led the way for the Eagles with 15 points, and he added five rebounds.

Adnan Halilovic finished with 14 points, and was just shy of a double-double with seven boards.

Logan Jozwiak came away with 12 points, followed by Edwards with 10.

Faulkner will face off against No. 13 Dalton State next Saturday at Tine Davis Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.