MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner's offense sputtered for a long interval of the second half before the Eagles found a late spurt to knock off Cumberland 89-82 Saturday night. The Eagles built the lead to its largest point when they led by 14 with 7:37 to play. Four minutes later, the Phoenix had worked it to a one-possession ball game and then tied with at 80 with 2:48 left.
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Maliek Sadler free throw at the 7:37 mark put Faulkner up 78-64. What ensued was a 16-2 run spurred by Demarius Boyd who connected on a pair of fastbreak layups to narrow the margin to 10. After
Jonathan Garcia made two free throws with 6:19 to go, the Phoenix scored the next 10 points with Triston Conger knocking down a three to tie the game at 80.
Faulkner took the lead back 21 seconds later when
Gabriel Rivera made both ends of a two-shot trip for the 82-80 advantage. When Cumberland raced the floor to try and cash in a potential game-tying layup,
Jeffrey Selden swatted the shot into the arms of K.J. Rogers to start the break the other way. The trip resulted in two Garcia free throws and an 84-80 lead. Faulkner went on to make five more free throws to preserve the win.
The game-ending sequence was indicative of Faulkner's offensive story throughout the night. After Rivera made a three with 12:06 left to put the Eagles up 67-56, Faulkner did not make another shot from the floor. The final 22 Eagle points all came at the free throw line. Faulkner shot 34 free throws in the second half and 53 in the game on a night that proved exceptionally physical on both ends of the floor. The Eagles connected on 40 of those attempts while also hitting 40.4 percent of their shots from the floor and 41.2 percent from deep.
Faulkner won the rebounding battle 43-32 but lost most of the ancillary categories including points off turnovers, points in the paint, fastbreak points and bench points.
Garcia topped all scorers with 27 points in 28 minutes. Rivera continued his strong first impression as the Montreat College transfer turned in his second double-double in as many nights with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
T.J. Williams ended up with 16 points and eight boards while Sadler had 10 points and five rebounds.
Faulkner (2-0) returns to action Tuesday night when it hosts Stillman College at 7:30 p.m. in a non-conference contest.
