MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner knocked down a modern-era program record 19 threes Tuesday night to down Stillman 108-86.
The first half saw the Eagles make a blistering 12 of their 17 shots from beyond the arc to help negate the Tigers' significant size advantage. Faulkner took control with an early 8-0 run in the span of just 60 seconds of action. Two free throws from
Jamarious Martin tied the game.
Gideon Harris cashed in a
Kamal Green II pass for the first Eagle three of the night before Martin then hit
Levi White for a layup. White followed with the bonus free throw to put the Eagles up 10-4 at the 17:52 mark.
Faulkner then traded twos for threes on four consecutive possessions. Dasean Sellers made a layup for Stillman and Harris answered with a three. Michael Kinnard knocked down a jumper for the Tigers and
Jordyn Turner-Durley responded with a three. Sellers converted another layup before Turner-Durley countered with another triple. Kinnard rained through a jumper for Stillman and Harris knocked down another three. A Turner-Durley dunk moved the lead to 10 for the Eagles.
By the 7:36 mark of the opening half, Stillman had whittled a 12-point deficit down to two. Faulkner then launched a suffocating 16-2 run to seize control before halftime. During the run, the Eagles made all five of their shots from the floor, including four from beyond the arc. Consecutive threes from Green followed by a pair from Turner-Durley pushed the lead to 48-32. Martin knocked down one more before halftime. The Eagles outscored Stillman 21-5 over the final 7:22 of the opening half.
The second half told much of the same story as the Eagles opened the frame on a 20-6 run. Martin knocked down a jumper at the 19:15 mark before De'Marreon Baldwin answered on the ensuing possession. Martin hit an acrobatic layup on the other end before Michael Johnson answered again. Then Faulkner took over again.
Green made a three. Turner-Durley hit two free throws.
Osakilo Okeke had a personal 5-0 run. Green made another three and Okeke cashed in an and-one opportunity that opened the lead to 73-41. The bucket culminated a stretch of 10:51 of game time in which Faulkner outscored Stillman 41-11. The Eagles were a combined 14 of 15 from the floor and 7 of 7 from beyond the arc while also making all of their free throws.
Faulkner played 15 players in the game with 13 of them scoring. No player stayed on the floor for more than 21 minutes of game time. Turner-Durley paced the team with 18. Martin turned in 15 points and four assists. Green scored 12.
Dillion Martey also had a career-high 10 points and a team-high four rebounds.
For its part, Stillman shot 48.5 percent from the floor while also outpacing the Eagles in rebounds, points in the paint, and second-chance points. However, Faulkner shot a blistering 61.7 percent from the floor and 61.3 percent from beyond the arc while also knocking down 15 of 17 free throws. The Eagles made 19 threes in the game, good for a modern-era program record. The previous high mark was 17 and had been achieved three times under
Scott Sanderson.
Faulkner (2-1) travels to Graceville, Fla. on Friday to participate in the Baptist University of Florida Shootout. The Eagles face Truett-McConnell Friday at 3 p.m. before taking on Florida Memorial Saturday at 11 a.m.
