MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner turned to its defense and transition game to overcome a quick start from Rust College Thursday night before cruising to a 97-74 victory to move to 7-0.
"We didn't do a good job early in the game defensively, especially defending the three. I think they made four threes in the first five minutes of the game," Faulkner Head Coach
Scott Sanderson said. "We got beat a couple times on the baseline. We got beat a couple times on our traps on the side. They got us in rotations and we gave them some open threes early in the game. They got us behind the 8-ball, so I wasn't particularly fond of that."
Once the Eagles settled in, they pulled out to a 48-33 halftime lead fueled largely by a 15-0 margin in points off turnovers. The second half lead ballooned to as many as 27, allowing Sanderson to give plenty of playing time to everybody on the roster. That allowed the Faulkner bench to outpace the Bearcats 34-14. Topping that group was
Austin Rogers with a career high 17 points to go along with four rebounds.
"First of all, he's just a first-class individual. I love his energy. I love his effort. He doesn't care about who he is guarding. He'll guard size. He'll guard quickness. He can score the ball for us. He runs a lot of ball screens, gives us a lot of energy plays," Sanderson said of the Alabama State transfer. "He's still learning what we're doing and how we're doing it. That takes time, especially on the defensive end of the floor to learn what we're doing and learn the terminology. I think as you're watching, each game he's getting a little better, a little better, and a little better. I think by the time conference play comes, hopefully, he'll be doing really well."
Trace Hill topped the Eagles with 22 points to go along with six rebounds.
C.J. Williamson had 17 points and seven rebounds as well as three steals and two assists.
Garrett Sanderson contributed 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Faulkner is set to play its final game of 2020 Saturday at 3 p.m. against the Covenant College Scots.
"They shot 64 balls against Samford and 40 of them were threes. We better guard the three. They'll have a plan and they'll execute what they're trying to do. Traditionally, they are a pretty good team,"
Scott Sanderson said. ""We've got a bunch of days off. Let's make sure we don't take off before it's time to take off. Sometimes teams have one foot out the door before it's time to finish playing. We have felt very good about ourselves and the way we've played. In my opinion, that would mess it up if we didn't come out with the energy and effort that we need to play against a very good Covenant team on Saturday afternoon."
