Faulkner rolls in SSAC opener
Jonathan Walker put pressure on the inbound pass
Nov. 27, 2007
Montgomery, Ala. - Faulkner scored the game’s first eight points and took out its early-season frustrations on Shorter, blasting the Hawks 70-45 Tuesday night at Tine Davis Gymnasium in the Southern States Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
The Eagles raced to a 21-10 lead at the 12 minute mark of the first half, and the Hawks never got any closer. Faulkner smothered Shorter defensively, holding the Hawks to 26 percent shooting on the night. The Eagles spread the wealth offensively, with 11 players scoring in the game. Seniors Jon Uriarte and RIcharde McCray led the way with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Dae Halliburton added seven points and eight rebounds for the Eagles, who outrebounded the Hawks 44-39
Jon Uriarte hits two of his 15 points
For Faulkner (2-5, 1-0 SSAC) it was a complete turnaround from its previous five games, all narrow losses to nationally-ranked teams. Head coach Jim Sanderson was most pleased with his team’s intensity on the defensive end, where it forced 25 Hawk turnovers.
Richarde McCray knocks down two of his 11 points and gets the foul
“The effort was there tonight from the outset, and I’m proud of our guys for that,’’ Sanderson said. “Defense should be the most consistent part of every team, and we had that consistency tonight. Although we didn’t shoot it all that well, I thought we played well offensively. It was a nice win for our guys.’’
Durell Richardson challanges at the rim
The 11-point early lead ballooned to 20 on a McCray basket at the 3:37 mark of the first half, and a three-point bomb at the halftime buzzer by Brandon Vaughn pushed the lead to 44-20 at the break. A Jonathan Walker basket gave Faulkner its biggest lead at 58-26 with 10:34 left, but a 14-0 Shorter run brought things back to respectability.
Josh Gholston hits the jumper over the Shorter defender
Shorter (6-3, 0-1 SSAC) got 10 points for A.J. Martin.
Faulkner hosts SSAC rival Berry Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Jonathan Walker scores a pair after the steal