Huntingdon men’s basketball loses at 19th-ranked Birmingham-Southern

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Huntingdon men's basketball team started strong Wednesday night.

But 19th-ranked Birmingham-Southern took the lead shortly before halftime and never trailed again. The Panthers controlled the second half and won 93-75.

This was the second meeting between the two teams in five games. Birmingham-Southern (5-0) edged Huntingdon (0-5) by two points in the season opener at Roland Arena.

On Wednesday, the Hawks led for much of the first half. Huntingdon built its largest lead with 5:49 left in the half when Mike Kilpatrick sank a pair of free throws to give the Hawks a seven-point lead.

But the Panthers rallied with a 20-3 run and led 48-42 at the half. The Panthers continued to extend their lead in the second half.

Jason Varney and Ryan Petty combined for 31 points to lead Huntingdon. Varney finished with 16 points and Petty added 15 points and three assists. Kanden Blackmon grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

Kevin Kegarise led Birmingham-Southern with 22 points. Zac Richards followed with 18 points and eight rebounds, Jasen Jonus added 14 points and Caleb Lee finished with 12 points.

The Hawks return to action at 3 p.m. on Dec. 10 at Hiwassee.