MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner's hot start was enough to keep the Eagles ahead in a defensive battle with former conference foe Stillman Tuesday night at Tine Davis Gymnasium in a 62-57 win to remain unbeaten in the new season.
After Stillman's Jaylon Taylor got the first layup of the day to take a 2-0 lead, the Eagles mounted a 15-0 run in just under five minutes with six different Eagles scoring to take a 15-2 lead with 13:41 to go in the first half. Stillman whittled the lead down over time but Faulkner held a 31-25 lead into the break as
Jeffrey Selden blocked a layup with time winding down and sparking a fast break cashed in by a
Jonathan Garcia three at the buzzer.
The Eagles started the second half hot again with a 10-2 run over 2:19 with Garcia and
T.J. Williams getting six and four, respectively. Stillman battled back twice to make it a one possession game, but Garcia hit a personal 7-0 run with a pair of assists from
Nicolas Tingling to take a 57-48 lead. Faulkner's offense went cold for a little bit, allowing the Tigers to get back within one possession as Joshua Price knocked down a triple with 1:14 to go to make it 60-57.
Stillman had two shots with under a minute to go to tie it, but the second one was snagged by Williams for his 14th rebound of the night and is now averaging a double-double on the season. Williams missed the front end of the one-and-one and the Tigers grabbed the board, but
Jeffrey Selden stole the ball back and knocked down a pair of charity stripe shots to ice it away.
Faulkner has now won eight consecutive games against the former SSAC foe from Tuscaloosa and have not lost to them since 2019.
Jonathan Garcia paced the offense with 24 points with five threes.
Gabriel Rivera added 12 and Williams added 10 points to complete his double-double. Selden had nine rebounds. Tingling had seven assists which matched Stillman's team total.
The Eagles are 3-0 for the seventh time under Head Coach
Scott Sanderson. Faulkner travels to Oakwood Saturday night to take on the Ambassadors for the first time at Ashby Auditorium since Dec. 1, 2014.
