MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner nearly erased all of a late 16-point deficit Tuesday night but fell short in a 97-95 loss to SSAC foe William Carey. The Eagles trailed by 16 with 4:19 left in the contest before finally getting off the deck for the first time all night.
A three from
J.C. Norris with 4:04 remaining started a 12-0 run that got Faulkner back in it in the closing moments. After a
Jayden Cooper jumper, Norris hit another three with 2:42 left. Cooper then scored on consecutive trips to slice the deficit to 94-90 with 1:11 to go.
Dylan Brumfield hit a free throw with 45 seconds remaining to move the advantage to five for the Crusaders but Faulkner fired right back with another Cooper layup as the clock hit 35. Down 95-92 and with a 3.5 second difference between the shot and game clocks, the Eagles appeared for a moment to have gotten the stop they needed before a foul sent Earl Smith to the line. He made both looks at the charity stripe to push it to 97-92.
Jonathan Garcia knocked down a three as time expired to set the final margin.
William Carey won key ancillary categories to control the majority of the ball game, leading for more than 33 minutes in the contest. The Crusaders took second chance points 18-13 and points off turnovers 18-5. The offensive outburst from the Crusaders saw them shoot 51.5 percent from the floor in the second half including 53.3 percent from beyond the arc. Carey finished the night with 14 made threes to buoy its attack. Brumfield poured in 26 points for the visitors while Smith had 25.
For its part, Faulkner shot 55.4 percent from the floor and 36 percent from beyond the arc. Cooper topped Faulkner with 25 points while
T.J. Williams had a career high 20 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Norris added 14 points and five assists. Victor Muñoz contributed 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. Garcia and
Sean McCurdy had 10 points apiece.
Faulkner (7-5, 2-3 SSAC) hosts Montreat College Saturday at 2 p.m.
