SEWANEE, Tenn. –
Russ Marr posted 20 points and
Reid Carrier added 16 off the bench, but Sewanee missed 13 free throws and allowed 17 offensive rebounds in a 77-73 loss to Huntingdon College in the Lon Varnell Classic in men's basketball action here Friday night at Juhan Gymnasium.
The Tigers (0-1) committed a dozen turnovers in the first half and trailed by four at the break. The squad shot just 34 percent from the field and made only 6-of-12 at the foul line in the second period, with the Hawks scoring six of the final eight points of the game in the four-point victory.
Sewanee made only 15-of-28 at the charity stripe in the contest and just 6-for-24 from 3-point range as well but hung around thanks to a dozen steals and 19 turnovers by Huntingdon, which the Tigers turned into 18 points.
Luke Avaliani collected 12 points for the Tigers but only one in the second period.
Fletcher Bigham netted 11 points and
Graham Smith led the club with 13 rebounds.
Ray'Quan Taylor scored a team-high 14 points for the Hawks, BJ Brown and Randall Davis each netted 11 and Nate Johns recorded 10. Huntingdon turned its 17 offensive boards into 16 second-chance points.
Huntingdon scored the final six points of the first half to take a 41-37 advantage in what was a sloppy 20 minutes for both teams, featuring a combined 22 turnovers and just 30-of-69 shooting from the field, 8-for-22 from 3-point range.
Marr netted four of Sewanee's first nine points of the game, helping the Tigers to a quick 9-4 advantage, but then drew his second foul, putting him on the bench for most of the rest of the half.
Fletcher Bigham's 3-pointer stretched the lead to 12-5, but Sewanee did not score for more than four minutes. Taylor scored three baskets for six points in a 13-0 Hawks run, with a Carrier triple for the Tigers finally ending the spurt.
Tre Corrigan followed with a three, knotting the contest at 18.
Neither team led by more than five points the rest of the period, though Huntingdon stayed in control for much of the last 10 minutes thanks to 3-pointers by Taylor and Brown. Marr and Avaliani each connected on two foul shots for Sewanee, the latter cutting the deficit to one with just over five minutes remaining in the half.
Randall Davis and Brown answered with field goals for a 30-25 Hawks lead before a basket in the paint from
Eli Holland started an 8-2 run for the Tigers. Carrier made a layup, then a triple plus the free throw for a 33-32 edge.
Consecutive field goals for Avaliani forced a timeout by Huntingdon with 90 seconds left in the half and the Hawks answered with the final six points of the period. Tate Goolesby started the spurt with a layup and Johns and Brown added baskets for the four-point Hawks advantage at the break.
Avaliani led the Tigers with 11 points, Carrier added nine off the bench and Marr posted seven in just seven minutes of action. Taylor paced Huntingdon with nine points off the bench and Brown and Randall Davis each netted seven.
A dunk by Davis put the Hawks in front, 49-45, four minutes into the second half. Sewanee netted seven of the next eight points, including a layup and a 3-pointer by Carrier, for a 52-50 edge. The teams went back-and-forth with the lead, with a 3-pointer by DeQuan Hawkins and a putback from Davis giving the Hawks a 56-53 advantage.
Baskets by Marr and Bigham put the Tigers back ahead, 61-60, and the game was tied at 65 after a Carrier layup with 7:23 remaining.
Consecutive baskets by Taylor put Huntingdon in front, 69-66, but
Tre Corrigan made two foul shots and Marr's jumper made it 71-69 Sewanee, but the Tigers did not score for almost four minutes. Davis tied the game with a layup and field goals from Jeremy Autin and Myles Murphy pushed the Huntingdon lead to 75-71.
Bigham pulled the Tigers within two with a bucket in the final minute, but after a frantic scramble for the ball, Huntingdon's Murphy made a layup just before the shot clock expired for the final points of the game with 17.6 seconds to play.
Sewanee plays Covenant College on Saturday at 5 p.m. to conclude the opening weekend of games.
