Faulkner fights off AUM 81-71 in crosstown SSAC showdown
In Faulkner head coach Scott Sanderson's eyes, it wasn't always pretty. In a crucial game against your crosstown rival it doesn't have to be, however, if at the end your team is on top.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – In Faulkner head coach Scott Sanderson’s eyes, it wasn’t always pretty. In a crucial game against your crosstown rival it doesn’t have to be, however, if at the end your team is on top. Such was the case here Saturday afternoon, when the Eagles fought off numerous Auburn Montgomery rallies and escaped with an 81-71 victory in a Southern States Athletic Conference showdown before an energetic crowd at Tine Davis Gymnasium.
Faulkner won its fifth SSAC game in a row to move to 6-5 in the league and 12-11 overall. The victory pushes the Eagles into a five-way tie in the loss column for fourth place in the league standings. One of those teams are the Warhawks, who dropped their second game in a row to fall to 12-9 overall and 6-5 in the conference.
“Whenever we would build up a pretty good lead, we’d start turning the ball over,” said Sanderson, whose team had an uncharacteristic 18 miscues. “It happened in the first half and it happened in the second half. I was proud of our guys continuing to battle, though, and find a way. In game like this with so much intensity, it’s all about who can make the plays toward the end, and I thought our guys did that.”
A pair of Nick Drake 3-pointers to start the second half gave Faulkner an 11-point lead and a Monta Sanford layup at the 13:53 mark pushed it to 50-38. AUM scored nine straight, with Romoane Eager pitching in five and Jeffery White four, to trim it to 50-47 with 12:02 to play. The Eagles stretched it out again to 60-49 on another Sanford basket with 8:31 left, only to have the Warhawks cut it back to four at 62-58 on Julius McCoy’s two free throws with 6:58 showing on the clock.
Faulkner regained the momentum again – thanks in part to a Marquis Grays 3-pointer and a putback by Alex Anderson – and this time never let it go. Di’mar Hill, who had 13 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds for the Eagles, made five-of-six free throws down the stretch to hold off any hopes of late-game AUM heroics. Drake had five 3-pointers on the night and finished with 20 points, while Logan Jozwiak added three of his own en route to a 15-point effort. Sanford ended with 11 points, nine of which came in the second half.
Eager’s 14 points and Desmond DeRamus’s 13 paced AUM. Faulkner outrebounded the visitors 35-29 and had a better shooting night, hitting 49 percent of its shots to 42 percent for the Warhawks.
“The crowd in here today certainly made a difference in the game, and I know our staff and our players really appreciated it,” Sanderson said. “It was loud and it energized our players when we needed it the most.”
A Julius McCoy basket midway through the first half gave the Warhawks a 17-15 edge, but the Eagles scored the game’s next 14 points to grab a  double-digit lead. Luttrell and Jozwiak led the charge, each adding five points as Faulkner seemingly took command. AUM, which fell 13 points behind moments later, refused to wilt, however. DeRamus had three baskets as the Warhawks climbed back in it, with Romoane Eager’s 3-pointer at the close of the half trimming the Eagles’ lead to 37-32 at the break.
Faulkner hosts league rival and defending national champion Dalton State Thursday night at 7:30 at Tine Davis Gymnasium.
