GRACEVILLE, Fla. – Faulkner opened its trip to the Baptist University of Florida Shootout with an 88-67 victory over Truett-McConnell Friday.
One game after setting a modern-era program record with 19 made threes, the Eagles kept the shooting hot early against TMU. Faulkner heaved 39 shot attempts from the floor in the first half and knocked down 51 percent of them. The game's first 20 minutes also saw the Eagles knock down 10 of 19 threes in the first half while outpacing the Bears 52-28 during the period.
The game stayed within two possessions until
Kamal Green II turned a
Jamarious Martin dish into a three with 7:54 to play until intermission.
Gideon Harris followed with a triple off a
Jordyn Turner-Durley dime to move the lead to double figures for the first time. Martin later knocked down a jumper to move the lead to 32-20. Turner-Durley then stole the ball and fired it off to Harris for another three to set the margin to 15. By the time Harris knocked down another three with 4:45 left in the half, Faulkner had executed a 14-2 run and extended its lead to 16.
After a pair of TMU free throws, Faulkner kept the fireworks going. Turner-Durley drained a three off a Harris assist.
Christian Richards then buried a three off a
Dillion Martey dime to move the lead to 19. Martin then found Harris again for another three to stretch the advantage to 22. Just 36 seconds until half, Faulkner got one more three as Turner-Durley assisted Martey to make it 52-28.
The teams played to a 39-36 Truett advantage in the second half but the margin never got closer than 19 points. A 12-3 Faulkner stretch late in the second, highlighted by a
Levi White personal 6-0 run, moved the advantage to 31 points with four minutes to play.
The Eagles took the rebound battle 38-35 but lost most of the remainder of the ancillary categories. The Faulkner defense limited Truett-McConnell to 38 percent from the field and 38 percent from beyond the arc while forcing 16 turnovers.
White paced Faulkner with 18 points and seven rebounds. Green added 15 points to go along with four assists. Martin finished with 14 points and seven assists. Turner-Durley had 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Harris also finished with 12 points.
Faulkner (3-1) will take on 2-0 Florida Memorial Saturday at 11 a.m.
