The Spring Hill College men’s basketball team fell 79-66 to in-state Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) divisional foe Tuskegee at the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center on Wednesday night.
The Golden Tigers held an 8-5 lead over the Badgers through the first media break. Spring Hill took the lead, 12-11, with less than 10 minutes to go in the half on a 3-pointer from Walter Peggs Jr.
SHC was able to gain as much as an nine-point lead on a 12-4 run led by Steven Lyles. After turning the lead back over for a brief period, Bo Barber drained back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Badgers a 36-32 lead. Tuskegee hit their own shot from beyond the arc shortly after to cut the Spring Hill lead to 36-35 at the halftime mark.
The Badgers saw 12 of their 23 bench points, half of their second chance points and eight of their 13 fast break points in the first half of play.
The Golden Tigers took the lead quick in the second half and never stopped. In the end, despite having most of their best shooting come in the second half, the Badgers fell 79-66 to their divisional foe.
Peggs Jr. led the team with 16 points, while Lyles crashed the glass and led with six rebounds. Tuskegee’s D’Anthony Pennington led the game in scoring with 27 points and Martez Jones led with 11 rebounds.
Game Details
Date: Jan. 31
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue (Location): Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center (Mobile, Ala.)
Results
Tuskegee 79, Spring Hill 66
Records: Tuskegee (9-11, 8-6 SIAC) Spring Hill (11-9, 8-6 SIAC)
They Said It – Head Coach Craig Kennedy
On the game
“Well, it’s very disappointing. We had a great crowd tonight. You have to give Tuskegee so much credit. They played so hard. They’re just such a beast on the board. Martez [Jones] is just relentless and you talk to guys about trying to play like that, but either people have that kind of motor or they don’t. You try to encourage it, but he was just a beast on the boards tonight and he just manhandled us at times. So, full credit to Tuskegee. They’re really surging right now. Thanks so much to all the Badger fans that came out and I guarantee you we’ll be better next time.
On getting three more games at home
“It’s going to be good because we’re playing teams that we’ve beaten on the road, now they’re going to come here and play us. So hopefully this will be a really good environment. Again, our student section was tremendous tonight and we’re going to need them every game from here on out, particularly coming up with senior night, coming up on Saturday the 10th.”
Eli Lenihan (Guard, Jr.)
On his and his team’s performance
“[I] thought I had a solid first half, along with all my teammates, tried to bring some great energy. That’s what we needed to go along with the fans we had tonight, who were excellent. Could have hit more free throws, absolutely. As a team, in general, we could all hit more free throws. Knock down more shots. Defensive rebounds in the second half, we struggled with a little. Tuskegee [is an] athletic team, Trez [Jones] was excellent, but, we have to move on. The season is coming to the business end, so we have to focus on the next one. Learn from our mistakes.
On the final homestand of the season
“It’s huge, having the sixth man in the crowd is unbelievable. They’ve been great all year long and if they can keep coming out in the numbers they’ve been coming out in with the enthusiasm, it’s appreciated more than we can describe.”
Up Next
The Badgers will continue their final homestand with a conference contest against Miles on Monday.
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
