Another 20-Win Season
The Foresters had a new head coach this year, but they finished the 2008-09 season with the same old winning traditions of the eight previous years.
Their 20-12 record this season produced HU’s eighth consecutive 20-win season. The team was disappointed with a fifth place finish in the MCC, but they maintained some traditions there too.
For one, Huntington has not had a losing season in the MCC Conference for eight consecutive years. For another, they have still never lost an opening round game in the MCC Tournament in its entire history.
Off to an Awkward Start
Things started off poorly for the new head coach. Before the first game, NCAA D1 transfer Bobby Jolliff suffered a knee injury that ended his season before it started.
Next, several players were caught up in an administrative issue that turned out to be a non-issue. Nevertheless, HU had only seven players for their first game and lost.
After a loss at Indiana Tech by 2 points, the Foresters won 12 of the next 13 versus non-conference opponents. The third loss was by 3 points, and both losses were to teams appearing in the Final NAIA D2 Poll.
The MCC: Tough competition
Starting play in the MCC Conference meant tougher competition. The four statistical systems rating NAIA D2 conferences have the MCC Conference as #1 in the NAIA. One of them ranks the MCC Conference ahead of eight NCAA D2 conferences.
As a result, it wasn’t surprising to see the non-conference win ratio (0.769) drop as the MCC schedule got underway. While HU went 8-8 in the MCC this season, they outscored their conference opponents by an average of 1.5 points a game.
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The Foresters Score Again
Huntington went 15-4 at Home this season, 10-1 in non-conference games. In overtime, HU was 1-2, with both losses coming on desperation shots at the buzzer.
Season Highlights
The highlight game of the season had to be the overtime win at home over Bethel. The Pilots were ranked #1 in all NAIA D2 at the time, but the Foresters won by six points.
HU had another highlight game at Grace in the first game of the MCC Tournament. Huntington had never before lost a first round game in the MCC tournament and the Foresters kept that tradition alive by winning 76-73 at Grace.
The second game of the tournament ended the season for the Foresters. IWU was ranked in the top 10 all season, but HU put up a good fight in an 80-88 loss, as IWU shot 79% in the first half.
Setting New Records
The Foresters set three new team records this season. First, they shot 67.5% from the field in beating Taylor. That set a new school record for field goal percentage in a game, surpassing the old record of 66.7% from the field, which the team equaled twice last season.
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