MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner never trailed by more than a point and went up by as many as 20 before polishing off a 94-87 victory over Blue Mountain Christian in Thursday's SSAC opener.
On a night in which the Eagles were playing without leading scorer K.J. Rogers, it was relentless effort on the offensive glass that made the difference in the game. The Eagles got 17 offensive rebounds to bolster a 25-1 margin in second-chance points. Faulkner had more offensive rebounds than the toppers had total boards as the Eagles won the glass battle 39-15. The paint presence translated to points all night long as the Eagles put up 46 points in the lane, anchored by the efforts of Australian center
Tanner Vogel.
The Busselton big man scored the first bucket of the night and continued to deliver throughout the evening. He had nine of the Eagles' first 14 points as part of a balanced effort that saw him score 11 in the opening half and 12 in the second. He paced Faulkner with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
Gabriel Rivera contributed 21 points while
Micah Thomas added 15.
The Eagles got their lead as high as seven in the first half before Blue Mountain got off the deck and pulled the game even. The Toppers took a one-point lead three different times before the intermission. As halftime hit, Faulkner went to the locker room with a 45-44 advantage thanks to
Levi White turning a Thomas dish into a layup with 19 seconds left in the frame.
Faulkner took control of the game early in the second half when Thomas hit Rivera for a knock-down three that ignited a 13-0 run and got the lead to 15. A 12-2 run late in the game moved the lead to 88-68 with 4:07 remaining. The Toppers responded with a 13-0 run over the next few minutes to get back to within seven with 83 seconds left. The tandem of Rivera and Vogel combined for the final six points of the night for the Eagles to put the game away.
Faulkner (5-1, 1-0 SSAC) returns to action Saturday when it hosts Tennessee Southern for a 2 p.m. tip.
