MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The 2022 NAIA Men's Basketball Championship Opening Round got off to a slow start in Friday's matchup between the Naismith Quadrant's 4-seed and 13-seed, Faulkner and Florida Memorial, respectively. The first score came at the 16:35 mark and the hosting Eagles made just a third of their shots and half of their free throws in the first half, a far cry from recent home performances. After holding a narrow 33-32 lead at halftime and falling behind by as much as seven in the second half thanks to inaccuracy and 10 turnovers at that point, the Faulkner offense flipped the switch with a pivotal 13-2 run, kickstarted by an epic putback by
Trace Hill, and went on to defeat the Lions 77-66 at Tine Davis Gymnasium to enter the national Round of 32.
The Eagles' largest lead until their late rally was 25-17 with 6:49 until halftime, until FMU closed in with consecutive treys from Corey Benton and tied it on an Eric Hester jumper. The latter two scoring plays came after turnovers by
Daniel Garmendia. Brent Holcombe laid one in over his head at 3:57 to give his team its first lead since the opening minutes, but
C.J. Hines nailed a step-back three to reclaim the advantage. A Garmendia jumper and another pullup triple from Hines gave Faulkner a 33-27 lead with two minutes left in the half, but the opponents brought it to within one at the half with a Cheikh Kebe jam following his block on the other end and an Aubrey Washington three after his steal.
The Lions took the lead back on their opening possession of the half with a Jacobi Gordon shot, and after exchanging scores, seemed to take control with a 9-2 run. The stretch was highlighted by Holcombe batting and coming down with a Hill inbound and feeding Washington for the fast break layup. FMU took their largest lead of the day at 47-40 on Gary Adams's three-point play.
Jalon Perry responded with two makes off the glass after a Hines steal and an over-and-back turnover. Washington later restored the seven-point margin with another triple, but Hines got the points back with the and-one layup. Hines was slow to get up on the play, but eventually stood and was able to shoot the free throw and stay on the court, and Hill proceeded to knock down a three to put his team down by just one.
On the ensuing possession after a Holcombe score, Hill missed a shot but stole it back from Adams around the arc and Adams tripped him up for the foul. It was here that the Eagles became reenergized, as Hines missed, but Hill soared to the basket and slammed the ball home for the highlight of the game. Now within one point again,
J.C. Norris gave his team the lead for good on a three and Perry increased it by burying a jumper with the shot clock about to expire. Both plays were kept alive by
Isaiah Brooks offensive rebounds, and the Eagles led 57-53 with just over eight minutes left to play. Benton then scored three points the old-fashioned way before Hines stepped back and got the points back via the long-range shot, and in response to a Kebe bucket, Hill tipped out a Perry miss for the offensive board and Brooks set the screen and fed Perry for a no-look assist to the layup.
Another Perry layup, this time with the and-one, put Faulkner up 65-58, and Brooks responded to a Lion bucket with a two-hand jam off the pick-and-roll. With 2:20 remaining in the contest, Brooks struck again as he skied over defenders to receive the inbound and laid it in to put his team up by double digits. The Eagles' final field goal came at the 1:33 mark to go up 75-62, as Garmendia claimed a steal and scored the breakaway layup.
Outdone in several categories, Faulkner came up big on the boards, outrebounding Florida Memorial 48-32 and tallying 21 of them on the offensive end, compared to just seven for the visitors. The hosts won second chance points 22-9. Though the Lions outshot the Eagles with 46.6% to 38.9%, the latter led in three-point percentage 37.5% to 26.1% and free throw shooting 66.7% to 60%. FMU was held to just one three-pointer in the second half, and Faulkner made seven of eight free throw attempts in the period after having a less effective first half.
Hines spearheaded the effort with 23 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Perry registered 19 points and five boards, and Hill racked up 17 points and nine rebounds. Garmendia had 11 points and three steals, and Brooks put up 11 boards and a pair of steals. Holcombe led the Lions with 21 points, 11 boards, five boards, three blocks and two steals. Washington scored 13 points and two steals, and Benton nine points, five assists and two steals. Kebe tallied eight points, five rebounds and four blocks.
The win marks the third for Faulkner at Tine Davis over the Lions in the last two years, as the two previously met in the 2020 Battle at the Beach and earlier this season in the 2021 Jimmy Faulkner Classic. Now that the Eagles have played one long and athletic team in FMU, whose starting five featured two 6'9" players in Holcombe and Kebe and the 6'7" Gordon, they must play another in Huntington (Ind.), who started three 6'8" men in their starting lineup on Friday. In the first game of the Montgomery bracket on Friday, the 12-seeded Foresters knocked off the 5-seed, Georgetown (Ky.), to advance to the bracket championship game. The two teams will meet at 5 p.m. on Saturday for the right to move into the Round of 16 in Kansas City, Mo., the final site of the tournament.
