Faulkner Rolls Past Shorter
No. 8 Faulkner shook off a two-game shooting slump Saturday, blistering the nets en route to an 86-52 rout of Shorter in Southern States Athletic Conference play at Tine Davis Gymnasium.
The Eagles who never trailed in the game, shot a season-best 54 percent from the field. From behind the three-point arc Faulkner made 12 of 23 attempts for a 67 percent clip. Full-court pressure kept the visiting Hawks in check all afternoon, forcing 28 turnovers and allowing only a 40-percent shooting percentage.
"I'm real proud of our guys for adjusting like they did in this game, and for keeping their intensity,'' Faulkner head coach Jim Sanderson said. "We were patient on offense and took good shots when we had them, and I think we were able to wear them down in the second half.''
Faulkner (11-1, 6-0 SSAC) ended the first half on a 15-4 spurt that resulted in a 44-27 advantage at the break. An 11-3 run in the first three and a half minutes of the second half pushed the lead to 25, and the Eagles cruised from there. The largest lead came at the 5:49 mark, when Brandon Vaughn buried a base-line jumper for an 81-43 margin.
Vaughn led the Eagles with a season-high 22 points, while Jon Uriarte and Richard McCray added 14 apiece. Uriarte also added eight assists for the Eagles. Shorter (2-9, 2-3 SSAC) was paced by Darius Williams' 11 points.
Faulkner plays Martin Methodist in Pulaski, Tenn., on Dec. 18.