MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner overcame an early deficit with a dominant run and largely coasted the rest of the way as it downed Oakwood 82-65 Saturday night.
Oakwood started the game with a flurry, scoring the first seven points of the night while reeling off a 12-3 run over the first four minutes of action. From there, the Eagles went on a 26-4 run that saw five different players score. During the stretch, Faulkner made half of its 18 shot attempts from the floor and turned Oakwood over four times.
Jordan Johnson and K.J. Rogers combined for 17 of the Eagle points during the run while helping turn a 12-3 deficit into a 29-16 lead. The advantage grew to as many as 18 during the first half with the Eagles taking a 40-27 lead into the locker room.
Faulkner went on to shoot 59.3 percent from the floor in the second half while scoring 42 points. The Eagles made 16 of their 18 free throw attempts and won the rebounding battle 38-30 despite entering the night without any of their three dedicated post players.
Johnson shined with a season high 19 points while Rogers matched that number in addition to adding five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Gabriel Rivera contributed 16 points and
Maliek Sadler finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
The night also served as the Faulkner debut for
Marselis Jones,
Ahmad Johnson and
Malachi Smith as
Scott Sanderson played all 13 of his available players.
Faulkner (8-0, 2-0 SSAC) will compete again Monday at 1 p.m. when it faces No. 4 Arizona Christian in Panama City Beach, Fla. as part of Battle at the Beach.
