Nelsonville, Ohio – The Hocking College men’s basketball team (4-9) achieved a non-conference win on Tuesday night over Appalachian Bible College behind a 42-29 advantage in the second half leading to a 79-60 victory. This was the Hawks’ second consecutive victory. Appalachian Bible College falls to (1-4) behind Jacob Tincher who scored a game high 22 points.
Led by their strong freshmen backcourt, the Hawks started their first winning streak of the season. Azende Johnson (Columbus/Walnut Ridge) scored a team-high 19 points, shooting 9-of-16 from the field, and freshman Tyler Jones (Cleveland/Shaker Heights) added 12 points. Jose Deleon also tallied 12 points as four Hawks finished in double figures.
Hocking College sophomore forward Dalane Brown (Youngstown/East) dominated the frontcourt with a strong double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds. The Hawks outrebounded the Warriors, 48-26. Brown has now recorded 30 rebounds in the last two games.
The Hawks entered halftime up by six, 37-31. Coming out of the locker room, Azende Johnson (Columbus/Walnut Ridge) came out hot and went 4-of-4 from the field scoring a quick eight points. The rest of the team followed in his footsteps as the Hawks went up by 19 with just over ten minutes left. At the four-minute mark the Hawks lead was up to 26, 77-51.
Clay Bretz is a junior majoring in sports administration at Ohio University. He is currently completing an internship with the Hocking College athletic department.