Faulkner University

ROME, Ga. - Faulkner lost most of an 18-point second-half lead but made plays down the stretch to escape the first round of the Southern States Athletic Conference with a 79-72 victory over Emmanuel here Thursday night at The Forum.

The fifth-seeded Eagles (18-12) advance to the tournament's semifinals, where they will face No. 12 Lee, which blasted Brewton-Parker earlier in the day. The game tips off at 7. Fourth-seeded Emmanuel ended its season at 21-10.

Faulkner blistered the nets in the first half, hitting 60 percent of its shots in racing to a 39-26 advantage. The first part of the final 20 minutes brought much of the same as the Eagles built the advantage to 51-33 with 12:55 left. Emmanuel, however, used a bruising offensive rebound advantage to fisght its way back in it. Getting numerous second- and third-chance opportunities, the Lions slowly cut into the lead. A 12-2 run, sparked by a Graham Maxwell three-pointer, brought Emmanuel to within 53-45 with 8:23 left.

The Eagles' lead was 69-62 with 2:36 to play, but the Lions refused to go away. An Avery Morris basket and subsequent free throw sliced the Faulkner lead to 71-70 with 1:01 left, but Randell Moore and De Hereford each hit a pair of free throws in the final minute to put the game away.

Faulkner won despite being outrebounded 47-36, with the Lions grabbing a whopping 29 offensive boards. The Eagles finished the game by making 54 percent of their shots, while the Lions, who had 36 more shots from the field, made only 32 percent.

Adam Okechukwu had a career-high 25 points to lead the Faulkner effort. Chris Palmore added 14, while Moore added 13 and Drew Boland 11. Emmanuel was paced by Tedrick Hudson's 19 points and Maxwell's 16 points.

March 3

ROME, Ga . – Senior forward Randell Moore and sophomore guard Chris Palmore were selected to the All-Southern States Athletic Conference basketball team, announced here tonight at the annual awards banquet.

Moore, who also made the team a year ago, led Faulkner in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13 points and seven rebounds a game. Palmore added 11 points and four rebounds an outing.

The Eagles’ George Manomano was named to the conference’s all-freshman team. He averaged six points a game

Faulkner’s Camille Ngon ‘a ngon was chosen as Faulkner’s recipient of the Champions of Character award, presented as part of the NAIA’s promotion of high character values both on and off the court.

Faulkner (17-12) is the fifth seed in the SSAC Tournament and will play fourth-seed Emmanuel Thursday night at 7:30.

MT. VERNON, Ga. - Corey Roth's long three-pointer capped a late Brewton-Parker comeback as the  Barons edged Faulkner 64-61 here Saturday afternoon in Southern States Athletic Conference action.

The Eagles (17-12, 6-8 SSAC) led 58-51 with 3:30 left but the Barons reeled off 10 in a row to grab the lead, with Roth's bomb handing Brewton-Parker a lead it would not relinquish. Faulkner had it's chances in the final minute but, trailing by only one with the shot clock off, turned it over with 22 seconds left. Roth's layup off the steal pushed the lead to three, and both teams traded free throws in the closing seconds.

Brewton-Parker (9-21, 3-11 SSAC) will be the eighth seed in next week's SSAC Tournament in Rome, Ga., while Faulkner will be the fifth seed. The Eagles will play Emmanuel in the opening round. The game time has yet to be determined.

Faulkner was paced by the 18 points of George Manomano, who was a perfect 6-for-6 from behind the three-point arc. Chris Palmore added 10. The Barons got 17 points Stefan Frank, 14 from Roth and 13 from Andrew Dikas.