Three Hawks Score 20+ As Hot Second Half Fuels Huntingdon's Victory Over The Baptist University Of Florida

LAGRANGE, Ga.- Huntingdon Men's Basketball closed out the LaQuinta Inn and Suites Classic at LaGrange College and the 2025 calendar year in a major way, defeating the Baptist University of Florida(BUF) Eagles 116-96 following a hot-shooting second half. Marcus Townsend, Owen LaRocca, and Tyler Mallory led the charge offensively, each scoring more than 20 points to guide the Hawks to the big neutral site win. 

Finishing with 29 points and 20 rebounds, Marcus Townsend is the first Hawk to record 20 rebounds in a single game in Huntingdon's NCAA-era history.

First Half

The Hawks were hot from the onset, highlighted back triples from Owen LaRocca and Tyler Mallory in the opening minutes as Huntingdon grabbed an early 10-3 lead by the 16:24 mark. Not to be outdone, BUF answered with a 10-0 run to snag a 13-10 lead nearing the 14 minute mark. The threes kept falling for the Hawks however, as Jeremy Autin joined LaRocca for another pair of baskets from behind the arc as the two sides traded baskets and stops over the course of the next four minutes. The breakaway point for Huntingdon came at just inside the 10 minute mark, as Marcus Townsend followed another three from LaRocca with a layup to push the advantage to five, 24-19, which allowed for the Hawks to stake their control through the remainder of the half. The first half lead reached it's highest mark at the 5:22 mark, as Sam Hailey's layup combined with a pair of free throws from Eric Moore brought the score to 38-26. The Eagles fought back to reduce the deficit to six, 49-43, inside the final minute of the half, but Huntingdon still entered the break holding on to a 52-45 lead. 

Second Half

Things really broke open in the second half, as Huntingdon outscored BUF 64-51 in the final 20 minutes, boasting a 60% shooting percentage from the field while hitting on 47% of their three pointers  to walk away with a 20 point victory. The Eagles started the half out strong, cutting Huntingdon's lead to just four, 54-50, by the 18:52 mark, but consecutive layups from Jeremy Autin and Myles Murphy restored the Hawks double-digit lead to 66-55 by the 15 minute mark. BUF answered again, sinking a pair of free throws at the 12:56 mark to bring Huntingdon's lead to just 67-64, but the Hawks exploded offensively in the final 11 minutes, reestablishing a double digit lead(81-71) after a pair of Marcus Townsend three pointers just inside the 10 minute mark and never looked back. Owen LaRocca kept his hot hand from the fist half with back-to-back triples yet again, which combined with Townsend's hot shooting, pushed the lead to 93-77 by the 6 minute mark before growing it to 21, 103-82, entering the final three minutes following another shot from deep, this time from Tyler Mallory. Baskets from Skyler Stovall and AJ Taylor inside the final two minutes cemented Huntingdon's big 116-96 victory. 

Hawk Top Performers

• #2 Marcus Townsend- 29 points, 20 rebounds, 4 assists
• #14 Owen LaRocca- 26 points, 7 three pointers
• #24 Tyler Mallory- 23 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds
• #10 Myles Murphy- 12 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds