MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - Following a close win by the Women's basketball team, the Viking's Men's team had their turn to open their season against the Huntingdon College Hawks. They finished with a dominant win, the final score 73-48. Ryan Luttrell and freshman Hudson McKnight lead the scoring effort for the Vikings, finishing with 20 and 18 points respectively.
The Vikings secured the tip-off to get the evening started. Cameron Pope cut through the defense for Berry's first bucket of the season, putting his defender in a blender on a spin move as he attacked the basket. Ryan Luttrell took the reins after the effort, getting hot from beyond the arch as Berry went ahead by ten.
After allowing 10 unanswered, Huntingdon recovered and went on a run that made the deficit more manageable as the half continued, the score 10-7 with fourteen minutes to play.
But after working themselves within striking distance, the Hawks went cold, and the Vikings turned up the heat with Ryan Luttrell leading the way, cooking the defense for 15 points and leading the Vikings to a game-high 18-point lead with three minutes to play in the half. Berry didn't lose much ground as the half officially came to a close, remaining ahead by 15 points, the score 36-21.
Coming out of the break, the Hawks looked to bring themselves back within striking distance and struck first to make progress on the deficit. With fifteen minutes left in the game, Huntingdon fought back to within single digits, but Hudson McKnight took over to put the Vikings back ahead by 15 with ten minutes left in the half. Although the Vikings were already up big, Berry added insult to injury as Drew Winegarden got hot and made it rain from beyond the arch, helping the Vikings reach a new game-high lead of 26 points with three minutes left. With time running out and the game out of reach for the Hawks, the Vikings cruised to a victory, the final score 73-48.
The Vikings will remain at home to face the LaGrange College Panthers on Tuesday, November 10th. The game will begin at 7:00p.m.
