MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A 15-4 run early in the second half set the East Texas Baptist University men's basketball team up for victory as they came away with an 83-69 win over Huntingdon University. ETBU finishes the first half of their schedule 5-2 and will be back home on January 2 against the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
 
Four players produced double figures as Charlie Cochran had 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor with seven rebounds. Chris Haynes added 17 points and seven rebounds while Kevin Charles added 16 points (8-of-10) and Landin Brown posted 12 points with four steals and seven assists. Aaron Gregg came away with nine points and six assists. Caleb Toney had 11 points for Huntingdon.
 
Shooting 54% from the floor, ETBU held the Hawks to 45% shooting. Huntingdon did shoot 47% from the three-point line to ETBU's 31% and also made 77% free throws to ETBU's 72%. ETBU did out rebound Huntingdon, 33-28, and forced 19 turnovers while only recording five themselves.
 
The first half brought a close battle between the two teams as they both shot over 50% from the floor. Huntingdon opened up with an eight-point lead in the first five minutes, 16-8, making three three-pointers in that time. At that point, ETBU answered with a 15-0 run over three minutes for a seven-point lead, 23-16. Brown had six of the 15 points with two buckets and a pair of free throws. His two free throws at the 13:04 mark gave ETBU the lead for good, 17-16, for the rest of the game. Huntingdon cut the lead to two, 32-30, with 5:23 left in the half but ETBU answered with another run. An 11-3 run gave ETBU a 10-point lead, 43-33, with 1:09 left on a Haynes layup. Huntingdon did bring the lead down to six, 45-39, hitting a layup just before the half ended.
 
ETBU slowly pulled away in the second half. They improved their lead to 11, 57-46, on a Gregg jumper with 15:32 remaining. With 12:21 left in the game, Huntingdon was within 11, again, 62-51, only to see ETBU shift momentum on a 9-3 run, 71-54. Gregg once again made it a 17-point to end that run. Huntingdon could not stop ETBU's momentum as the Tigers pushed their led to 19-points, twice, as Haynes collected on two free throws at the 3:56 mark making it 79-60. ETBU kept their distance in the final four minutes for the 16-point win, 83-67.
 
Off now for Christmas Break, ETBU will be home on January 2 hosting the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in a non-conference game at 3:00 p.m.