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02.21.07
- The NAIA 4th-ranked
Huntington University Foresters (27-4) downed Marian College (9-16)
71-51 in an opening round game of the Mid-Central Conference
Tournament. Although the final margin of victory was 20 points, it
really didn’t play that way.
The Foresters opened
the game with a 6-0 run and got the lead to double digits at 20-8 at
the 11:41 mark. Despite scoring just six field goals and shooting 21%
in the half, Marian was able to trade baskets with Huntington over the
final ten minutes of the period to head to the locker room down by the
same margin at 33-21.
Early in the second half, the Foresters looked to have things under
control with a 19-point advantage six minutes into the half, but
Marian continued to battle. Over the next minute and a half, the
Knights quickly fought back to within 12. Huntington squelched the
rally attempt with two Alex Kock free throws and a deep trey from Kyle
Benge. Again the Foresters looked to have the game well in hand with
a 54-37 lead, but Marian had one more run left. The Knights, who had
been struggling to find the range all night, finally knocked down
three treys to cut the deficit to 10 with 5:30 to go. After trading
threes, Huntington then held Marian scoreless over the final 3:35
while running off 10 more points for the final 20-point margin of
victory.
Jared Reeves, Marian’s lone scorer to reach double figures, took
game-high honors with 21 points. The Foresters put four in double
digits with Kyle Ganton topping the list with 20 points. Doug
Sheckler finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Kock added 13
points and eight boards and Luke Smith finished with 11 points.
Both teams had poor shooting performances on the night. The Knights
were a little better in the second half at 32% to finish at 27%
(17-63) for the game. Huntington went 23-53 for 43% in the game. The
Foresters edged Marian 43-41 in the battle of the boards.
With the win, the top-seeded Foresters move to the semi-finals of the
MCC Tournament on Saturday, February 24 when they host #4-seeded Grace
College, who defeated Bethel College 82-76 in overtime. Tip-off is
set for 3:00 p.m.
Box Score
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