The Spring Hill College men’s basketball team defeated Allen 80-68 in Saturday’s Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) game at the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center.

Timothy Reilly set the tone with a big dunk to open scoring. Reilly, Walter Peggs Jr. and Isaiah Veal combined and pushed the Badgers ahead 10-9 through the first media break of the game.

The Yellowjackets responded with a 12-8 run and took a 21-18 lead by the next media break with less than 10 minutes to go in the half. Veal clutched up down the line with back-to-back jumpers to tie the game and then regain the lead 29-27 with less than 3 minutes left in the half.

Peggs scored the next six points for Spring Hill and gave them a 35-32 lead going into the halftime break. SHC went 5-5 from the free throw line and shot 36 percent from beyond the arc in the first half.

Veal kept the energy going for the Badgers with a 3-pointer less than 30 seconds into the second half. Allen crept back up and regained the lead (42-40) by the first media timeout of the half.

Both teams went back-and-forth and tied the game three times with the lead changing twice before the next break. The Badgers went on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes on their way to a 55-48 lead with less than 10 minutes to go in the game.

Spring Hill held on to the lead for the remainder of the contest and even extended its lead to double digits on the way to the 80-68 home conference win. By the end of the game, SHC went 16-16 from the charity stripe.

Veal led the game in scoring with a career-high 30 points while going 11-for-14 from the floor and 100 percent (2-2) from beyond the arc. Veal, Peggs and Reilly each recorded a team-leading six rebounds apiece.

Game Details
Date: Jan. 6
Time: 4 p.m.
Venue (Location): Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center (Mobile, Ala.)

Results
Spring Hill 80, Allen 68
Records: Spring Hill (7-7, 4-4 SIAC), Allen (7-6, 3-3 SIAC)

They Said It
Head Coach Craig Kennedy
On the game
“I was really proud of the guys in this bounce-back game. This was tough after our loss to the No. 10 team in the country [Benedict] and after losing Jorclay [Kaniki]. Anytime you lose a player, it has this emotional effect on the team and our guys really rose up and showed a lot of maturity and toughness. I was really proud of them. Obviously the leadership, it’s such corporate leadership – whether it’s Zay [Isaiah Veal], Steven [Lyles], Eli [Lenihan] or Bo [Barber]. We really showed corporate leadership today and I was really proud of the guys. This is a good win for us, it gets us back to .500 and gets us on the path to where we need to go.”

On what the team is focusing on going forward
“Well hopefully on getting everyone healthy. You think – Luka [Erdtmann] was a starter for us and we haven’t had him since game three of the year. So, getting him back adds a lot of depth to us. For us, this was kind of a typical game – we score 80 points, shoot 100 percent from the free throw line, we should be a good free throw-shooting team. We just have to cut down on the turnovers and I think we’re going to be right where we want to be.”

Steven Lyles (Guard, Jr.)
On his performance
“I thought I had a solid performance. Going into this game, the main thing that we wanted to focus on was defense and I think all around, as a team, we did a great job communicating on defense and getting stops when we needed to, especially down the stretch.”

On where he gets his energy to make big plays late
“My teammates, you know I want to give my all for my teammates, just because I know they would give the same for me. Just the competitiveness I have and wanting to win at all costs.”

Isaiah Veal (Point Guard, R-Sr.)
On his career-high performance
“We needed a win, like Coach Kennedy said, tonight. Bouncing back after losing guys and having a tough loss last game. I just wanted everyone to come out and have fun. The last couple games didn’t look like we had too much fun, so we wanted to come out here and play hard for each other and get a win.”

On his father coming from Nevada to watch him play
“That means everything to me – my dad has been with me since I started playing at four years old. So, to have him be able to come out here and support me, support the team – all the parents of Spring Hill – every time we come in the gym we talk to every parent we see and it’s a lot of love, so it’s pretty good.”

Up Next
The Badgers will continue the homestand with a conference contest against Central State on Saturday.

For complete coverage of Spring Hill men’s basketball, follow the Badgers on social media @SHCHoops (X), /SHCBADGERS (Facebook), @shchoops (Instagram) or visit the official home of Spring Hill athletics at shcbadgers.com