BY JOEL SELLERS

FAULKNER SPORTS NETWORK

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Trailing by as much as 14 points in the second half, Faulkner rallied for an 86-77 win over Middle Georgia State at Tine Davis Gymnasium Saturday. After the visiting Knights took a 54-40 lead with 12:46 left in the game, the Eagles went on a 20-3 run.

Nate Bradley (SR/Concord, N.Y.) scored 14 of those points, including three 3-pointers. After the scoring barrage, Faulkner led 60-57 with 8:26 on the clock. Middle Georgia State then took the lead back, and the two teams exchanged baskets for the next several minutes. With 3:41 remaining in the contest, Milan Skundric (SR/Negotin, Serbia)'s 3-pointer gave the home team a 73-72 lead, its first since the 7:17 mark. After the visitors retook the lead again with a 3-point bucket from Jahwan Smith, Bradley put the Eagles back on top as he made the tying basket and a free throw after drawing a foul on the play. With 1:43 left on the clock, C.J. Williamson (SO/Guntersville, Ala.) made a 3-point shot to give his team a 79-76 lead, which it would not relinquish. This score was the start of a 10-1 run that Faulkner finished the game on, with nine of those points coming from Williamson. 

Both teams had an almost equivalent field goal percentage, but the Knights tallied an amazing 72.2 percent on 3-pointers by making 13 of their 18 long-range attempts. At halftime, the visitors were successful on eight of nine 3-pointers while Faulkner made only one long-range shot in the first half. The statistic led to Middle Georgia State taking a 38-30 lead into the locker room. The Eagles won the rebounding battle 41-28 with 17 of those boards by the offense.

Williamson led Faulkner by racking up 27 points, 10 rebounds, and two steals. Bradley scored 20 points, along with five boards and five assists. Skundric registered 11 points, six boards, two assists and two blocks. C.J. Jones (SR/Port Richey, Fla.) was responsible for 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Jacob Spence (SR/Fernandina Beach, Fla.) scored seven points, which came on three of Faulkner's first four baskets in the game, staking his team to a 9-3 lead. Smith paced Middle Georgia State with 16 points, two rebounds, three assists and two steals. Josue Passius was close behind with 15 points, nine boards and two blocks. Michael Graham had 12 points, three rebounds and two assists while De'Miria Glover collected 12 points and five rebounds.

Faulkner goes on the road for its next contest against No. 16 Loyola. The Eagles will now put their No. 10 ranking to the test as their next three contests are against ranked opponents.

"Just one game at a time," Faulkner Head Coach Scott Sanderson said about preparing for the stretch. "We've got to get ready for Loyola and Loyola only. We've got to improve in some areas that we have to do better at offensively and defensively. You know, like I told you tonight, you've got to be able to win sometimes when you don't have your best stuff. Tonight, we didn't have our best stuff, and give all the credit to Middle Georgia, because they played extremely well, shot the ball well, but we can still figure out a way."

Faulkner's record is now 22-3, having won 13 consecutive games. The Eagles are also 13-1 in conference play. With the win and Dalton State's loss to Martin Methodist, Faulkner now sits alone in first place in the SSAC.