MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner was able to turn its offense and defense on when it mattered and made its foul shots late to hold on for an 85-78 win over Middle Georgia State at Tine Davis Gymnasium on Thursday night. After a first half in which Faulkner had to fight and claw for its one-point lead at halftime, the Eagles trailed just once after the break in a matchup defined by runs in a rivalry that has been decided by single digits in all but one of the last nine meetings. Faulkner has won seven of the last eight contests between the squads.

Despite a mere 30.8% mark from beyond the arc and 25% in the first half, Faulkner put up a 46.2% output in total shooting and 73.9% from the charity stripe, a major step up from its performance in the last win at Stillman. All five starters got in double figures, with double-doubles claimed by Isaiah Brooks and Trace Hill and a career day for the former. While the Knights were sharper on long-range shots and free throws with marks of 38.1% and 87%, respectively, they were held to just a 41.7% output from the field. The defense was what truly answered the bell for the Eagles when the chips were down, as the visitors, despite making all 13 free throw attempts, made just 10 of 30 shots and four of 12 three-point attempts in the close first stanza. Both teams proceeded to improve by shooting 50% after halftime. Despite Middle Georgia State winning second chance points 17-10, the Eagles claimed four more rebounds and had one less turnover. The home team led in fast break points 6-2, points in the paint 40-28 and points off turnovers 11-10. However, the visitors' bench scored 43 points, compared to just seven for the Eagles, as the former saw two starters, Jahwan Smith and Maliek Sadler, held scoreless and the latter saw all of their points scored by six players.

Brooks's career day was achieved with a tally of 18 points and 10 rebounds, six of them offensive. Five of the Atlantan forward's eight buckets were scored by slam dunks, the first of which opened the scoring. Hill racked up 11 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Jalon Perry led the team with 19 points to go with his three dimes. C.J. Hines scored 16 on an uncharacteristic off night for the redshirt freshman sharpshooter, which came via a trio of made threes and seven free throws on as many attempts at the line. He added eight assists, five boards and three steals to his stat line. Daniel Garmendia registered 14 points, five boards, three assists and a steal; he, Brooks, Hill and Hines each got a block. Jamel Cleveland provided the team's other seven points as the first reserve in, making all three of his field goal attempts. Tristan Harper led the Knights despite not starting, scoring 22 points and nine boards. Juwan Johnson also came off the bench, tallying 16 points and five rebounds. Tyler Willoughby registered 17 points, five boards and three assists. Dayreontae Foster claimed 10 points and nine rebounds; Smith came up with three steals.

Two Garmendia buckets sandwiched around one by Cleveland staked Faulkner to a 15-7 lead with 15:28 left in the first half. However, the Eagles then went dry and the Knights came charging back for the first of several times on the night with a 10-point run. Threes by Johnson and Siage Batten tied the score and Rashad Elloie made a basket to put his team up for the first time at 17-15. However, Garmendia faked a three and a jumper before feeding Brooks with a sweet pass under the hoop. Brooks slammed it home to tie the score back with 9:23 on the clock, setting the stage for a back-and-forth affair for the next six minutes. With 2:30 left, the Knights held their largest lead of the contest at 35-31, but a Garmendia three cut the advantage and Perry responded to two free throws with a jumper. Down 37-36, at the 1:31 mark, Austin Rogers forced an airball by Harper to give possession back to Faulkner. Brooks took advantage with the offensive board and tip-in to put his team up at halftime. The visitors' last two possessions before heading into the locker room ended in a Willoughby travel on the way to what would have been a good basket and a Smith charge in the lane to preserve the Eagle lead.

The visitors' opening possession of the second half gave Faulkner momentum, as Smith attempted a pass from the lane to outside the arc, but the pass failed to find a teammate and went into the student section for a turnover. A Perry layup put the Eagles up by three and was the start of an 11-4 run that put the home team up 49-41. This stretch included a response to a Knight score in the form of a Hill layup, a Brooks slam off a fast break and a Hines three to lead into a Middle Georgia State timeout. When the Knights pulled to within 50-47, Cleveland responded with a three-point play. With just over 12 minutes to play, a miss by Elijah Jones was tipped out to Johnson, who claimed the rebound and three-pointer to tie the score 53-53.

Perry took the lead back for his team with a jumper, but Harper put his team back up for the last time at 57-55 with two buckets. The second score was costly, however, as the officials called Harper for two technical fouls, the first for hanging on the rim and the other for the ensuing argument. Hines hit all three of his free throws, and Garmendia scored on the awarded possession with a three as the shot clock expired, giving his team a 61-57 lead. Willoughby promptly answered with a long-range shot of his own, but Brooks restored a cushion with a one-hand floater. Hill then came down with an opposing pass and found Hines open in the corner for a three-ball. Two more Brooks jams gave Faulkner its largest lead of 72-60 with 5:17 remaining. On the first, the ball was fed to Brooks off a give-and-go and the second, which came off a pick-and-roll, made the fans in attendance lose their minds. Though the Knights got the margin closer on a few more occasions, free throws or Perry scores kept the visitors at arm's length to finish this one off.  

Faulkner ups its record to 14-3, 6-1 in conference play. Now that Saturday's contest against Brewton-Parker has been postponed, all eyes will be on Faulkner as they host the No. 1 team in the land, Loyola, on January 17. The top-ranked Wolf Pack are coming off a three-game layoff, but are 16-0 and have been nothing short of dominant. Faulkner witnessed their abilities in person during the Battle at the Beach tournament, which is fortunate as the Eagles did not play them at all last season due to the COVID-affected schedule. Tipoff is at 6:00 p.m.