TALLADEGA, Ala. - Faulkner clinched at least a share of the SSAC regular season title Friday afternoon, overcoming a slow first half on the road against Talladega on the back of a stifling defensive performance 61-46 in its final regular season conference game.
The Eagles held the Tornadoes to just 17 points in the second half while dropping 38 to flip a 29-23 halftime deficit.
Isaiah Brooks tied the game at 34 with a pair of free throws with 15:49 to play before
C.J. Hines put the Eagles ahead with two more makes just 45 seconds later. Talladega tied it up at 36-all with 13:57 to go from the charity stripe, but a personal 5-0 run from
Jonathan Garcia pushed Faulkner ahead for good. The lead was cut to just two with just under 10 minutes left, but Garcia knocked down another big triple ahead of a pair of
Trace Hill free throws that gave Faulkner enough cushion to keep it a two or more possession game the rest of the way.
Faulkner was paced in scoring yet again by Hines who dropped 24 points. He has eclipsed 20 in 10 of the 14 games since the turn of the calendar year. His 21.1 points per game sees him tied for 15th in the country and is the most in the SSAC.
Garcia ended with 11 and
Isaiah Brooks was perfect from the floor and the stripe en route to 11 as well.
The Eagles currently lead Loyola by half a game in the SSAC standings with the Wolf Pack playing Saturday at home against Life. If Life wins, the Eagles will take the title outright. With a Loyola win, Faulkner takes the two seed in the tournament due to the losses to Loyola.
Faulkner's run at the SSAC tournament will start Thursday evening at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl downtown depending on the seeding.
