MONTGOMERY, Ala. – After an uninspiring stretch of play in the first half, Faulkner flipped the switch on both sides of the ball and came from behind to defeat Thomas 84-75 on Monday night at Tine Davis Gymnasium. The Eagles made sure that their home winning streak stayed active and did not end against the Night Hawks, as Faulkner won its 29th consecutive game at Tine Davis.

With 6:06 left before halftime, Thomas's Toriano Lewis hit a three to put his team up 30-17, the Night Hawks' largest lead of the night. The visitors trailed briefly after ceding the opening points to Isaiah Brooks before answering with the next 10. Faulkner refused to say die, however, coming out of the under-six media timeout with quite the answer in the form of back-to-back three-pointers from Daniel Garmendia and Jeremy Jordan.

C.J. Hines answered another Lewis long-range shot with one of his own, and Trace Hill took advantage of a Thomas turnover by making use of an and-one opportunity to narrow the score to 35-29. After another five points by Thomas in response to the Faulkner surge, Jordan came up with a huge block in pinning Tim Williamson's shot against the glass after the Night Hawk picked the former's pocket. Jordan finished with a three on the ensuing possession, bringing the score to 40-32 at the 1:24 mark. With 11.3 seconds left in the half, Jordan was originally called for a travel off a rebound under Thomas's basket, but the officials conferred and reversed the call, awarding possession to Faulkner. The Eagles cashed in on the opportunity, as Brooks tapped in the layup off a dime from J.C. Norris to place his team down just 40-36 going into the locker room. All in all, the Eagles outscored the visitors in this span of six minutes 19-10 to begin the comeback effort.

After trading baskets to begin the second half, Faulkner took off on the defining 15-2 run that put the hosts in the driver's seat with a 53-44 lead. It started with a three-point play by Jamel Cleveland after getting a rebound off his own miss and continued with a Jalon Perry three that tied the score. A steal and a fast-break layup with the and-one by Hines gave Faulkner its first lead since the opening minutes. Another bucket for Cleveland and two more by Perry off offensive rebounds rounded out the run.

In response to more scoring by the visitors, a Hill layup and a Perry floater gave Faulkner its largest lead of the day at 57-47. A Williamson score, coupled with buckets following back-to-back steals for Thomas, narrowed the margin to four points before a jumper by Perry, a Hines layup off a Jordan steal and a Hill basket staked the team to a 70-62 lead with 6:40 remaining. After more pushes by the visitors, Hines hit a floater as the shot clock ran out and Garmendia hit two shots sandwiched around a Thomas 0-for-2 trip to the free throw line. The Eagles went up 76-67 at the 3:14 mark thanks to this sequence, and the nine-point margin stood at the final gun.

Despite only shooting 33.3 percent from beyond the arc, the Eagles rode a highly efficient offense to earn the win by making 55 percent of field goals, including a 62.5 percent mark after halftime, and were perfect on free throw attempts. They held a skilled Thomas squad, that just earned a 65-41 win over a Mobile team which fell by just one point to Faulkner, largely in check. The Night Hawks shot 48.1 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from three themselves, but only made one three-ball in the second half.  
 
Hines was his usual stat-stuffing self, racking up 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. Hines, Perry, Brooks, Cleveland and Jordan all came up with at least one block. Perry registered 17 points with two boards and three dimes. Hill, the longest-tenured player on the team, scored 15 points, eight boards and three assists. The matchup marked Hill's 100th career game at Faulkner. The last player to reach that mark was Marquis Grays in 2018. Garmendia was next on the list with 12 points, three rebounds and four assists. Cleveland scored 11 points off the bench, making five of his six shots and getting the rebound and ensuing bucket off his only miss.

Williamson led his team coming off the bench with 18 points, three steals and two apiece in boards and dimes. Reggie Wright registered 13 points, five boards and two steals. Booker claimed 10 points, four rebounds and four assists. Trint Bryant scored seven points, three rebounds and two assists.   

Faulkner improves its record to 9-1. The Eagles' most recent loss at home was almost two full years ago against Talladega on Dec. 13, 2019. Now, they will defend that record once again as they open home conference play on Dec. 4, appropriately, against No. 5 Talladega, which is a new member of the SSAC. It will be no small task, as the in-state Tornadoes are off to a 10-0 start. Faulkner's last conference loss in Tine Davis occurred in Hill's freshman year, a 93-87 contest against Dalton State on Jan. 31, 2019. The Eagles will make a return trip the next week to Thomasville, Ga. to take on the Night Hawks again on Dec. 11 to finish nonconference play before returning home to face Dalton State a week before Christmas.