PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. – Faulkner took Warner's best shot in the first half and again in the second before finding a way to persevere Monday for a 78-71 victory in the Battle at the Beach. The Eagles led by as many as 12 in the second half, a margin they achieved on a
Jonathan Garcia layup and ensuing free throw with 14:41 remaining. From there, the Royals put together a 9-0 run to cut it to 52-49. Garcia sunk a three with 8:07 left that moved the Faulkner lead to 59-55. The advantage entirely dissipated during a 36-second stretch that saw Logan West and Johnathan Joseph combine for a 5-0 Royal run, putting Warner up 60-59.
Over the final seven minutes, Faulkner put together a 19-11 run, sparked by consecutive threes from
J.C. Norris and Garcia.
The Eagles shot 40 percent from the floor and 41.4 percent from three in addition to making 18 of 22 free throws. Faulkner lost the rebounding battle 44-36 and came up short in points in the paint as well as second chance points. The Eagles did, however, prevail in 17-8 in points off turnovers.
Garcia topped Faulkner with 20 points. Norris finished with 16 points, 10 assists and five rebounds. Victor Muñoz had 11 points and eight rebounds while Jayden Cooper added 10 points.
Faulkner (3-4, 0-2 SSAC) faces Texas A&M-Texarkana Tuesday at 3 p.m. in the penultimate game of Battle at the Beach
