The Spring Hill College men’s basketball team snapped its three-game losing streak with a resounding 113-75 win over Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) foe LeMoyne-Owen on Senior Day at the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center on Saturday.
The Badgers marked their 12th win of the season in the dominating win over the Magicians, tied for the most in SHC’s Division II era.
Walter Peggs Jr. led Spring Hill in scoring with 20 points while shooting 5-9 from beyond the arc and dishing out a season-high three assists. He drained all five of his threes over the course of three minutes in the second half.
Isaiah Veal (4-4), Ashton Hawkins (2-2) and Luka Erdtmann (2-2) were all perfect from the free throw line. Hawkins also got his team involved, dishing out nine assists during the game.
The 113 points scored by SHC marked the most in a conference game in the Division II era for the team. The 43 field goals made, 16 3-pointers, 52 rebounds and 27 assists all marked season highs for the team.
After a few early back-and-forth lead exchanges, the Badgers took the lead with 14:34 to go in the first half and never looked back. By the end of the half, Spring Hill led LeMoyne-Owen 45-31.
SHC shined in the second half; shooting 63 percent (26-41) from the floor, 50 percent (11-22) from beyond the arc and 100 percent (5-5) from the free throw line. The second half juice had the Badgers up by as much as 42 points at one point.
The 42-point lead was highlighted by the fact that it came on the 100th point, which was scored by Hawkins, who prior to the game was honored alongside Veal for Senior Day. The triumphant 113-75 victory marked the second time this year that Spring Hill has surpassed triple-digit scoring in a game.
Game Details
Date: Feb. 10
Time: 4 p.m.
Venue (Location): Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center (Mobile, Ala.)
Results
Spring Hill 113, LeMoyne-Owen 75
Records: Spring Hill (12-10, 9-7 SIAC), LeMoyne-Owen (8-16, 6-11)
They Said It
Head Coach Craig Kennedy
On the game
“This is the best senior night I’ve ever been involved with. It’s also two of the best seniors I’ve ever had [Ashton Hawkins and Isaiah Veal]. Just the kind of people they are, I’m so happy for them that we came out victorious, because often times senior nights are a bit of a train wreck for people. We’ve been working through some stuff as a team and today we really gelled. So many guys; Luka [Erdtmann] was 6-for-7, he had a phenomenal game, Zay [Isaiah Veal] came up firing, Hoodie [Ashton Hawkins] got back on track and Walter [Peggs Jr.] had five [3-pointers] in a row at one point. I’m just so happy for our seniors, because they’re emblematic of student-athletes and the kind of people we want in our program.”
Ashton Hawkins (Guard, R-Sr.)
On his performance
“I feel like my performance is the epitome of our team as a whole – it’s nine assists and getting all my teammates involved. I prefer to see my teammates score, rather than me score, because it gives me joy and that describes exactly who we are as a team – we all put team above ourselves. Like Coach said, we’ve been going through some things recently, but [we’re] trying to get back on track.”
On what senior night meant to him
“It’s actually a big deal, it came really quick, Coach K always says it’s going to come quick, but you really don’t realize it until it gets here. It just means a lot to me man, my guys made me feel real special today, we got a big win, everybody performed well, so I love it.”
Isaiah Veal (Point Guard, R-Sr.)
On him and his team’s performance
“I thought my performance was pretty good. You know, Coach was consistently talking to me throughout the game, giving me pointers on what we could do, plays out of timeouts and stuff like that. My teammates trusted me to come in, knock some shots down, make some good passes and we got the job done. As far as the team, everyone was clapping, everybody was cheering. In timeouts, we had positive energy and everyone was here to win today. Even though we’re on break right now, the crowd that we had, the turnout was incredible. Thank you to all the fans, all the families that came out for senior night.”
On what senior night meant to him
“It just means everything to me, because it’s really a testament to all the work that we put in over not just college, but the years before that to develop us, to get to this point and that’s something really special.”
Walter Peggs Jr. (Guard, Jr.)
On the game and his performance
“I’m always looking for a way to be impactful in the first half. LeMoyne came out swinging heavy, which opened it up for Zay and Hoodie. I’ve been in a slump these recent games, but the only way to get out of a slump is to shoot your way out. We came together and gelled, as a team, because we have been [facing] adversity. It’s how we bounce back and I feel like this game was a great bounce back game for us. Overall, I feel like everyone got a piece of the cake and that’s what it’s all about. What it’s going to take for us to be successful as a program.”
Up Next
The Badgers will host Lane in their final home game of the season 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
