MOBILE, Ala. – Mobile guard P.J. King had a three clang off the front of the rim at the final buzzer Saturday afternoon as Faulkner snagged a 62-59 SSAC road win.
Leading 60-59 with 4.2 seconds to go,
C.J. Hines was sent to the line where he drained two free throws to force the deep desperation shot that nearly paid dividends for the hosts.
In the lowest scoring game that Faulkner has played in almost exactly a year when it defeated Stillman on the road January 8 61-58, it was a furious comeback sparked by lockdown defense that put Faulkner in the win column for the 13th time this season.
Trailing 37-23 with 18:03 to play in the second half, Faulkner faced its largest deficit of the season but clamped down defensively and whittled the Ram lead to two with a 12-0 run over the next 2:52 with five of
Daniel Garmendia's season and team high 19 points.
At 13:26 to go in the game, Garmendia knocked down all three of his free throw attempts before capping off his personal 6-0 run with a three with 12:15 to put Faulkner in the lead for the fourth and final time in the game.
The Eagles allowed just two points from the charity stripe while preventing a Ram field goal for over five minutes until an Ezra McKenna layup at 9:43 to go.
Bench points could not be found for the hosts as the Eagles held them to an .404 team field goal percentage, the second lowest for a Faulkner opponent this season.
Hines finished with 15 points to move to 16th in program history in career points at 1147 just six points behind Faulkner Hall of Famer Medric Boddie.
Trace Hill's 14 puts him just two points away from 13th all-time with 1181. Hill also picked up his second double-double of the year with a team-high 11 boards.
Faulkner welcomes Middle Georgia Thursday night at 7:30 for the 21st meeting between the programs. The Eagles have won eight of the last nine meetings.
