Defense Struggles Against Relentless Huntington Foresters
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Huntington (6-1, 2-0) | 59 | 42 | 101 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) (4-4, 0-2) | 35 | 40 | 75 |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Tuesday evening the University of Saint Francis Cougars (4-4; 0-2 Crossroads) played host to the Huntington University Foresters (6-1; 2-0 Crossroads) at Hutzell Athletic Center and fell 101-75 as the Foresters offense was too strong.
After a rocky start to conference play in their loss to the Bethel Pilots on Saturday, the Cougars were anxious to rebound though it wasn't going to be easy against the resilient Foresters. And in the opening minutes Huntington took control right off the bat as they built an early 11-2 lead before the Cougars had to call their first timeout of the game less than three minutes in.
Matters didn't get any better though through the next several minutes. Halfway through the first half the Foresters had built a 24-point lead over Saint Francis, and the Cougars had a lot of work to do.
With four minutes to go in the frame the deficit grew to as big as 30 points for Saint Francis as Huntington was firing on all cylinders.
The game went to halftime with the Cougars trailing 59-35. Despite the large deficit the Cougars had shot 50 percent from the floor and 36 percent from beyond the arc, but the offense of Huntington was too formidable in the first half as they shot 74 percent from the floor.
Heading into the second half, the script remained unchanged as the Foresters went back on the offensive. Five minutes in Huntington had extended their lead over Saint Francis to 33 points, ahead 76-43.
Through the remainder of the second half the Foresters maintained their lead over Saint Francis as the Cougars suffered their worst loss of the season thus far falling by 26.
Throughout the game, the Cougars shot 44 percent from the floor, 39 percent from beyond the three-point line, and 86 percent from the free throw line. Graduate guard Antwaan Cushingberry had a team-leading 16 points while junior guard Brayton Bailey led the way in rebounds with six.
The Cougars resume play on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Kingsport, Tennessee to compete in NAIA The Show with their first game against William Jessup (5-3) at the Meadow View Convention Center beginning at 2:30 pm.
Cougar fans, stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting Saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.
