MONTGOMERY, Ala. – No. 18 Faulkner was on the ropes for a while on Senior Day against a motivated Mobile squad in a matchup that saw eight ties and the same number of lead changes. However, the hosts put together one more complete performance and a dominant second half to put the finishing touches on the regular season with a 76-64 win at Tine Davis Gymnasium.

All five Eagle starters registered in double figures and the team maintained its high-performance offense, shooting 54.7% from the floor, 55.6% from three and 80% from the charity stripe. Almost all of that offensive production came in the second half, which the Eagles took by a score of 46-34 after the game was tied 30-30 at halftime. They had gone into the locker room with just a 45.83% field goal mark and 25% of three-pointers made, but upped it to 62.07% and an eye-popping 80%, respectively, to shut down the Rams. The visitors also found success in these areas, with four of their starters hitting double digits, and they took 12 more shots than Faulkner, taking the offensive rebound category 15-7. However, the Rams were less efficient on the extra attempts, connecting on a 41.5% clip and just 28.6% from deep. They improved their overall shooting in the second half, but made just three of 13 long-range shots in the period as the Eagles cracked down on defense and rebounding. Mobile was sent to the line by Faulkner just three times for the entirety of the contest and made just two of the five attempts.  

C.J. Hines showed up in almost every area with 15 points on a six-of-eight shooting day with a perfect three-for-three from beyond the arc, along with six rebounds and eight assists. He, Jalon Perry and Isaiah Brooks each collected a block and a steal. Daniel Garmendia racked up 15 points to go with three assists and two steals in the final regular season game of his college career. Perry, also in potentially his last home game, tallied 13 points, four boards and three assists, and Brooks scored 12 points and six rebounds. Trace Hill put up 10 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for his third double-double of the season. Joshua Williams led his team with 19 points, four assists and three steals. Damariee Jones racked up 16 rebounds, 11 points and two blocks, and Gary Jefferson also scored 11. Logan Foutz added 10 points, and Ezra McKenna registered eight points, six boards and five assists.
 
Down 13-9 with 12:50 left in the first half, a Jamel Cleveland layup got his team within two before Brooks broke up a pass and slammed it home on the breakaway to tie it up. On the ensuing possession, J.C. Norris got a block on the layup attempt. Hines came down with the rebound, took it the other way and hit the dime to Norris. The latter claimed the three on his sole shot of the game to give Faulkner its first lead since 2-0. Cleveland added another layup before a 2:48 scoreless stretch, which ended when Hines corralled a loose ball in the opposing paint and took it down the court for a layup. He added another bucket through a foul in response to a Williams three. Garmendia then stole one himself, stayed in bounds and repeated Hines's feat of a coast-to-coast layup.

Following an illegal screen by Mobile before inbounding that gave the ball back to Faulkner, Hill batted the ball away from defenders to himself for the offensive board. He fed it to Austin Rogers, who fed it to Perry, and Perry hit the turnaround jumper for a 26-16 lead with 3:54 until halftime. However, the Rams stormed back, as they would on multiple occasions, with a 12-0 run that included three treys in a row to take a 28-26 lead. Cleveland tied it back again on his one-handed layup, but following a Foutz turnover, Williams stole it back and delivered a no-look assist to Jones, who scored on the two-hand jam. Garmendia free throws tied the game going into the locker room, and a Williams travel with three seconds left negated a would-be three to provide the Eagles with a much-needed break.

The Faulkner offense began the second half flying high with three consecutive triples of their own, scored by Hill, Garmendia and Hines, each around the same corner. Mobile responded to each with twos and then responded to a Brooks bucket via a Williams triple. Jones later came up with a huge block on Perry and promptly scored another jam to tie the game at 41. Brooks gained the lead back with a fadeaway shot and Perry added a pullup shot just inside the arc. On the next trip, Brooks gave a punishing block of his own off the side of the backboard and pressured Williams, off the rebound, into a three-point shot that he badly missed. Brooks proceeded to tally the ensuing offensive board and kicked out to Perry, who faked the shot and dished to Hines down low for the layup and a 47-41 lead with 13:56 left to play.

After exchanging scores, Mobile's 11-3 run made for some more nerves on the part of Faulkner. McKenna put his team up 53-52, and Hill's three-point play was only a temporary reprieve as Foutz and McKenna scored back-to-back layups following an offensive rebound and a travel, respectively, that gave the Rams the advantage again at 57-55. That would be their final lead, however. The wildest play of the game occurred as Hines got the ball off the rebound and headed down court, but Jefferson met him at half court in an attempt to steal and batted it high. The ball nearly hit the ceiling of the gym, and when it came down, Hines got his hand on it in between McKenna and Williams and tipped it in the direction of the goal as he was falling backward. Garmendia recovered the ball just inside the three-point line and scored the open layup.

With the score now tied 57-57, Mobile committed a charge on the next possession, which led to a Garmendia three for the permanent lead with 8:21 remaining. These two scores began a 12-1 run that helped the Eagles settle in and take control of the game. Faulkner did not score again until the 6:37 mark. At that time, Perry missed his second free throw, but Rogers scrambled and got the rebound before it went out and passed it out to Hill, who threw back to Hines. Hines sunk the three to give his team four points out of the trip after the initial foul call. After that, fresh off a Garmendia steal, Hill again provided the assist when he dropped it off to Perry. Perry's three-point shot hit the rim and backboard before falling through, which made the lead 67-58. After a Jones bucket, a 3:08 scoreless streak took place before a 9-2 run beginning at the 2:43 mark removed any lingering doubt about the outcome. Hines had it stolen, but got the block and then the rebound after Mobile retained possession. He promptly passed ahead to a wide-open Hill running into the paint, who flushed the two-hand jam to kickstart the run. With the offense running clock, Brooks scored the next two by diving to lay one in and dunking the other with one hand. Garmendia then added one more three in front of the Faulkner bench, an oh-by-the-way score for the Eagles' final bucket of the day.

It was quite the performance for Senior Day. The six upperclassmen who are leaving after the season were recognized before the game, all of whom transferred in at some point in the last two years: Cleveland, Garmendia, Perry, Rogers, Jeremy Jordan and Jordan Hamlette. A seventh senior was also honored in Keavonte Lindsey, a manager for the team for the last three seasons and an indispensable worker with the Faulkner Sports Network during that time.

Next up for the Eagles (23-5, 15-3 SSAC) is the SSAC Tournament in downtown Montgomery at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl, which they will enter with plenty of momentum, having won eight of their last nine and 14 out of 16. They head in as the No. 3 seed behind the power duo of Loyola and Talladega, the latter of whom holds the tiebreaker over Faulkner due to sweeping the regular season series. Faulkner takes on sixth-seeded Middle Georgia State on February 24 in the nightcap at 9:45.