HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Faulkner gritted out a non-conference road victory Saturday night despite turning the ball over 19 times in a 65-57 win over Oakwood.
The Eagles found the gas pedal late as they pieced together a 7-0 run after the Ambassadors had pulled to within one. K.J. Rogers connected on a jumper at the 5:08 mark to move the Faulkner lead to 54-51.
Maliek Sadler then turned a
Gabriel Rivera assist into a three for the 57-51 advantage. A Rogers defensive rebound started a break on the ensuing trip that resulted in a Rivera layup for the 59-51 lead with 3:38 remaining on the clock.
A Jaywill Thornton dunk with 1:10 left marked the first points for Oakwood since the 5:37 mark. Sadler answered with a layup four seconds later to move the margin back to eight.
Faulkner had previously carried a 32-30 lead into the locker room at halftime before
Jonathan Garcia drained a three for the Eagles. The teams traded punches until Chase Jackson tied the game with a triple and Jeray Randle made good on a jumper with 11:45 left to put the Ambassadors up 43-41.
Sadler answered with 11:05 left when he turned a Rogers pass into a three for the 44-43 lead. Jordan Bell then hit a jumper to put the Ambassadors back on top with 10:41 to play. The advantage proved short-lived and once again fell at the hands of Sadler, who ripped through another three for the 47-45 Faulkner lead. Sadler repeated the feat with 7:57 to play to move the margin to five.
The teams tied in points in the paint and second chance points. Oakwood tipped the scales in its favor by making good on Faulkner miscues as it outpaced the Eagles 24-8 in points off turnovers.
For its part, Faulkner shot 43.6 percent from the floor and limited the Ambassadors to 37.7 percent. The Eagles also connected on 10 of 15 free throw attempts while Oakwood missed 10 of its 15 efforts. Faulkner, which won by eight, made five more free throws and one more three than the Ambassadors.
Sadler scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half to lead all scorers. Garcia added nine points while Rivera had eight.
T.J. Williams finished with eight points and 11 rebounds. The Eagle bench contributed 36 points on the night to help propel the win.
Faulkner (4-0) opens SSAC play Thursday night when it hosts Tennessee Southern at 7:30 p.m.
