Faulkner holds off Southern Wesleyan
February 14
CENTRAL, S.C. - Faulkner built a 25-point second-half lead and then held off a furious Southern Wesleyan comeback to escape with a 78-64 Southern States Athletic Conference victory here Saturday.
The Eagles never trailed in the game, building a commanding 35-17 lead at halftime. The advantage ballooned to 53-28 on a Randell Moore basket with 13:28 left in the game, but Faulkner foul trouble and numerous Southern Wesleyan second-chance points brought the Warriors back. Nick Lagroone and Kenny Joyner combined for 12 points in a 15-0 Southern Wesleyan run that cut the margin to 53-43 with 8:48 left.
Lagroone's putback with 6:32 left had the Warriors to within six, but Faulkner's Reggie Dupree knocked down a jumper and Moore added one of his own to push the lead back to 10. Southern Wesleyan could get no closer than eight the rest of the way, with the Eagles putting the game away by making it's last seven free-throw attempts.
Faulkner (14-11, 6-8 SSAC) was paced by Dupree's 20 points. Moore added 12 points and nine rebounds. Eleven of the 13 players who saw action for Faulkner scored in the game. Southern Wesleyan (7-17, 3-11 SSAC) got 24 points from Lagroone and 12 from Joyner.
Faulkner hosts Brewton-Parker Thursday night at 7.