Faulkner hung 13 points before Bethel got on the board Thursday night in Tine Davis Gymnasium as the Eagles ran to a 93-73 victory in their SSAC opener. 

Matt McMillian hit a shot with 14:08 left in the first half for the opening Wildcat points of the night. Things got little better from there. Faulkner continued to pour it on, opening the lead to as many as 25 before the half was over. 

The Eagles forced 22 Bethel turnovers in the game and limited the Wildcats to 40.9 percent shooting from the floor. 

Rene Scott (JR/Mobile, Ala.) topped all scorers with 19 points. Milan Skundric (JR/Negotin, Serbia) added 17 to go along with seven rebounds. Sean Edwards (SR/Madison, Ala.) ended his night with 15 points. Faulkner got a strong performance from its bench as the unit combined for 31 points. Trace Hill (FR/Hartselle, Ala.) had eight while Nate Bradley (JR/Concord, N.Y.) and Luka Dmitrovic (SR/Cacak, Serbia) tallied seven apiece. 

The Eagles shot 50.9 percent from the floor and 32 percent from three. 

The win moves the Eagles ahead in the lifetime series 5-4 and marks the first meeting between the two teams since a 96-93 Faulkner loss in overtime of the 2018 SSAC Tournament. 

Faulkner (7-0, 1-0 SSAC) return to action Saturday when they host Blue Mountain at 1 p.m. in SSAC play.