MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Faulkner Eagles responded to their comeback against Florida College on Friday with a more complete performance in a 99-84 win on Saturday night, completing a home sweep of the visiting Falcons at Tine Davis Gymnasium. The Eagles never trailed, and the score was tied on only two occasions in the opening half.
The visitors were only two percent behind Faulkner in field goal efficiency, both teams shot 80 percent on free throws, and both were called for 12 fouls. Florida College recorded a 41.9 percent mark on three-point shots, compared to the Eagles' 31 percent. The difference, however, was in the other factors on the stat sheet.
Faulkner collected a whopping 50 rebounds, 20 of those on the offensive side, while the Falcons only had 28 total boards, with 22 of them coming from the defense. The home team committed only nine turnovers while forcing 12. Additionally, the Eagles won the battles of points in the paint, points off turnovers and second-chance points by the margins of 42-20, 22-13 and 28-2, respectively.
"You know, they were neck-and-neck with us yesterday in rebounding," Faulkner Head Coach
Scott Sanderson said when asked about his team's preparation. "And I pressed our guys pretty hard, because the teams we've got to beat, you know, to make significant strides, we've got to rebound the ball. And we outrebounded 50-28, we had 20 offensive rebounds. That's excellent. And we've got to have that kind of mentality. The other thing we talked a lot about is, yesterday, we had a lot of unforced, we had 15 turnovers. Today, we only had nine. And those unforced turnovers yesterday led to easy baskets, and this time, we only turned it over nine times. So, you're getting the extra possessions…, and I'm just kind of glad, the way we sustained play for the most part tonight."
Austin Rogers scored nine of his team's first 11 points, all of them via triples on his first three shots of the game. Six of his seven made shots on the night were from deep.
C.J. Hines and
Daniel Garmendia broke both of the tied scores with long-range shots of their own, with the latter's score giving his team a lead it would not relinquish at 17-14 with 12:27 until halftime. The Eagles only made eight of their 22 three-point attempts in the first half, but ensured that the makes counted. They headed to the locker room with a 49-41 lead. After
Garrett Sanderson staked Faulkner to a 13-point lead with 17:50 remaining in the game, Florida College responded with an amazing 12-2 run, pulling the margin to three points.
The run consisted of four consecutive shots from behind the arc, with three of them, and the assist on the fourth, coming courtesy of Ladarron Cleveland. However,
Garrett Sanderson stole the ball immediately following a Sam Brown defensive rebound and got the basket. That, coupled with
C.J. Williamson's ensuing offensive bucket and tip-in, gave the Eagles a multiple-score lead that would hold up the rest of the night.
Rogers paced Faulkner with his 22 points, along with six rebounds and three assists. The point total is a new career high for his entire playing career at Alabama State and Faulkner; his previous high of 17 came against Rust in December.
Jordan Hamlette continued in his high-scoring ways, finishing the night with 18 points, six boards, and five assists. Williamson chipped in 12 points, eight boards, and three dimes. Sanderson totaled 16 points and five rebounds, and
Trace Hill added 12 points and seven boards.
Cleveland led Florida College with his monster night, racking up 30 points, including seven threes, and five assists. Jalon Perry had 14 points and seven rebounds, while dishing out nine assists. Erric Wynn Jr. registered nine points, six boards, and two steals, and Bryan Chong scored 12 points. Matt Simpson, who was named 2019 First Team All-Conference, was a nonfactor, being held to just nine points and three assists.
Faulkner improves to 15-1 and remain undefeated in SSAC competition, and may see a rise from its current No. 10 ranking when the next poll drops. The Falcons fall to 11-8, and 1-5 in conference play. The Eagles will travel to Georgia for their next set of games. They will face Dalton State on Tuesday night, and then travel to Cochran, Ga., where they will take on Middle Georgia State in a doubleheader Jan. 29 and 30. The two teams will return to Faulkner for the Eagles' first two games in February.
