By Joshua J. Darling, Sports Information Director
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – LaGrange (11-5, 3-0 CCS) used a balanced scoring attack as they posted an 84-73 victory at Huntingdon (1-14, 0-3 CCS) in an NCAA Division III men's basketball game on Wednesday, January 11.
Senior forward Zac Hill (Senoia, Ga.) delivered an all-around game with 12 points, eight caroms and four assists while going 6-of-8 from the floor and freshman guard Brodie Scott (Athens, Ga.) dropped 18 points and grabbed five boards off the bench.
Junior guard Camerin Lyons (Peachtree City, Ga.) finished with 16 points, going 10-of-11 at the foul line and added five assists and four steals while sophomore forward Kyle Smith (Titusville, Fla.) added 14 points in just 24 minutes. Senior guard Bershard Edwards (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) rounded out the top performers with 11 points and four rebounds.
The Panthers would dominate the first 10 minutes of the opening half, beginning with seven straight points from Smith as they erupted for a 25-7 lead by the 10:08 mark. During that run Scott and Lyons each dropped in five with Hill adding four.
Following a scoreless minute and a half of play for both teams the clubs would be even with seven points apiece before the Hawks eventually closed to within 15 at 34-19 with 3:26 on the clock. A pair of LaGrange free throws pushed the margin back to 17 but it wouldn't stay there long as Jeremy Autin capped a 7-0 burst with a triple to cut the deficit to 36-26 with 25 seconds left. Scott then knocked down a pair of free throws to send the clubs to the break with a 12-point difference.
LC would see their lead shrink to seven, 40-33, over the first minute and a half before rebounding with a 15-6 burst that left them with a 55-39 advantage by the 14:21 mark. Huntingdon would then respond with a run of their own, scoring 17 of the next 25 points to pull to within 63-56 with 7:16 remaining.
At that point Scott delivered five points and Lyons knocked down four from the charity stripe to fuel a decisive 9-2 run that made it 72-58 with just over four minutes to play and essentially put the game away. The Hawks would get to within nine on a pair of occasions before cutting it to eight, 81-73, right before the Panthers closed out the 11-point victory.
Myles Murphy exploded for 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting and hauled in eight boards to pace Huntingdon while Nate Johns finished with 15 points and five caroms. They were joined by Chase Dumas with nine points and five boards and Autin with seven points.
The Panthers return to the court on Saturday, January 14 with a trip to Belhaven. Game time is slated for 5 p.m. EST in Jackson, Mississippi.
NOTES
The victory keeps LaGrange in sole possession of first place in the inaugural Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) season.
