MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner moved past a slow start Thursday to hang 62 points in the second half and notch a 101-74 opening night victory over crosstown rival Huntingdon.
The second half scoring outburst, which ties for the third highest point total in a single half in modern program history, found its aid in a 58.1 shooting clip from the floor and a 54.5 percent success rate from three. Those numbers dwarfed Faulkner's first half productivity, a 20-minute frame that saw the Eagles make just 37.2 percent from the floor and 17.4 percent from three.
"I know my players," Head Coach
Scott Sanderson said. "They were all upset at halftime because they couldn't make a shot. I wasn't upset about that. I was more upset that we weren't guarding anybody. When we guard people and get out into transition, that plays into our favor. I thought in the second half the defense set the tone for us to make a bunch of shots."
Faulkner took its first lead of the evening with 4:39 to play in the opening half when
Daniel Garmendia cashed in a
Jonathan Garcia dime for a three, putting the Eagles up 31-30. After the Hawks briefly regained the advantage, Garcia pulled up off the bounce and ripped a triple through for the 34-32 lead. The Clint, Texas sophomore added five more points in the first half to send the Eagles to the locker room up 39-33.
Huntingdon got to within two points in the second half before the Eagles embarked on a 32-4 run to effectively put the game away.
Middle Georgia State transfer and Prattville Christian Academy alum
Elijah Jones buoyed the Faulkner offense in the first half, scoring 10 points in less than five minutes while also grabbing nine rebounds in the frame. "He actually kept us in the game in the first half," Sanderson said. He finished his night with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Garcia topped all scorers with 24 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists
C.J. Hines added 10 points and five assists in the win.
"Most nights, we know we're going to score," Sanderson said. "We scored 101 points tonight and we really did it in 34 minutes because we didn't score the first six minutes."
Faulkner (1-0) moves to 4-1 overall against Huntingdon. The Eagles have now won 12 consecutive season openers. No. 11 Faulkner returns to play Friday, Nov. 4 in the Jimmy Faulkner Classic when it hosts Freed-Hardeman.
