PANAMA CITY, Fla. – In a marquee holiday week matchup, No. 9 Faulkner opened its Battle at the Beach slate with a 100-88 victory over No. 10 LSU-Shreveport. The Eagles, who led by as many as 25 in the second half, flipped the game with a 20-5 run early in the game.

The Pilots held a 10-4 lead with 17:25 to go in the first half before Faulkner took advantage of a bizarre sequence that resulted in an eight-point trip on the offensive end. Jonathan Garcia cashed in a C.J. Hines assist for a three-point shot that cut the deficit to 10-7. Officials called LSUS for an offensive foul on the ensuing inbound, giving Faulkner the ball back. A technical foul call on the LSUS bench allowed Hines to make a pair of free throws before the Eagles got to inbound the ball again. When they did, Garcia dished off to Hines, who drained a deep three to complete the eight-point trip and give Faulkner the 12-10 lead.

A quick 4-0 spurt from the Pilots briefly put them up 14-12 before a Hines shot 21 seconds later tied the game again. The shot launched a 9-0 run for Faulkner. A Daniel Garmendia three at the 12:48 mark moved the Eagle lead to 24-15. Faulkner upped the lead to as many as 17 in the first half before a Jalen Brooks three with 32 seconds left but the halftime margin to 56-42.

LSU-Shreveport won the overall rebounding battle 35-29 while shooting 54.8 percent from the floor. The Pilots only shot 25 percent from three on 20 attempts while Faulkner knocked down 13 of 26 such efforts. The Eagles also cashed in on their free throw line chances, making 25 out of 34 attempts while LSUS made 15 of 23.

Hines topped all scorers with 38 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Trace Hill added 22 points on just 10 shots. Garcia finished with 15 points.

Faulkner (6-0, 2-0 SSAC) returns to action Tuesday at 6 p.m. when it continues Battle at the Beach play against a receiving votes team in Mid-America Christian.