MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Despite some early offensive woes, Faulkner found the rhythm in the second half while pouring in 53 points on the way to an 84-71 victory over Paine College. The Augusta, Ga.-based NCCAA school proved formidable throughout the night, leading the Eagles by as many as seven in the first half while knocking down 45.3 percent of its shots from the floor in the game.
Faulkner began its climb back in the closing moments of the first half when
Nicolas Tingling made a layup and followed with a pair of free throws to head to the locker room with a personal 4-0 run and the game tied 31 all.
Gabriel Rivera proceeded to take over in the second half, pouring in 19 points across the final 20 minutes of the game. After
R.J. Comer gave Faulkner the lead with a layup with 16:54 left, Rivera stretched the margin to four with a layup 45 seconds later. The lead got up to seven before the Lions charged back and tied it again with 12:27 remaining before eventually taking the lead with 11:33 on the clock.
The Eagles took the lead for good with 11:18 to go when Rivera turned a
T.J. Williams assist into a three-point make to set the score at 51-49. The shot marked a personal eight-point stretch for Rivera that left the Eagles up four. Pain got back to within one possession one more time.
Maliek Sadler turned a
Jonathan Garcia pass into a three before flipping another Garcia dish into a fastbreak dunk to give Faulkner the nine-point lead with 5:35 left.
The backbreaking sequence began with 4:17 to go when Williams flushed home a dunk and followed with a layup before assisting Garcia on a three. Tingling assisted on another three to end the 10-0 run and put the Eagles up 15 with 2:56 to play.
Over the final seven minutes of action, Garcia contributed 10 points, two assists, two rebounds and a steal to help close the victory.
Faulkner shot 46.4 percent from the floor in the game while making 52.5 percent from the field in the second half including 46 percent of its threes. A Montreat College transfer who scored 22 against Faulkner in Tine Davis Gymnasium last season, Rivera paced the Eagles with a career high 25 points and 11 rebounds Friday. Williams finished with 13 points and eight boards. Garcia added 12 points while Sadler had 11.
Faulkner (1-0) wraps its Jimmy Faulkner Classic slate Saturday at 7 p.m. when it hosts Cumberland University.
