WINGATE, N.C. - A scoring outburst to open the second half lifted the Anderson men's basketball team to an 87-81 win past Wingate South Atlantic Conference action Wednesday night at Cuddy Arena.
Anderson (17-10, 11-6 SAC) moved into a tie with the Bulldogs
for second place in league standings, but own the tiebreaker by
virtue of their season sweep of Wingate (16-9, 11-6 SAC).
The Trojans opened their final two-game road swing of the season by
claiming their third straight win, while snapping the Bulldogs'
six-game win streak.
Anderson snapped a 39-39 halftime tie with 10 unanswered points
to open the second half and went on to shoot 68 percent over the
final 20 minutes. Five different Trojans contributed to the flurry,
which ended when senior forward Trey Britton hit a free throw at
the 16:59 mark to make the score 49-39 Trojans. Brandon Young
contributed a 3-pointer to the pivotal run.
The Bulldogs responded with seven straight points to cut the
deficit to 49-46 on an old-fashioned three-point play by Paidrick
Matilus with 15:06 left. Anderson kept the edge for the next 10
minutes until Wingate made a final push.
Wingate tied the contest at 72-72 on a Kincaid tip-in with 4:05 to
play. Cornwell responded on the next possession with a jumper in
the paint, putting the Trojans up 74-72 at the 3:49 mark. Cornwell
hit a three-pointer with 1:43 left in regulation to nudge the lead
to 80-74, while Matilus hit a basket on the next possession to pull
the Bulldogs within four.
Anderson made free throws down the stretch to keep the Bulldogs at
bay. The Trojans made five-of-six charity tosses in the last 38
seconds. Smith hit two free throws with 16 seconds to go, making
the score 84-81 Anderson.
Trojan freshman guard Denzail Jones was fouled immediately and he
calmly hit two free throws to keep the game out of reach. Britton
added a single free throw with eight ticks left on the clock to
settle the final margin.
Wingate led 17-8 on a Turner lay-up with 13:18 left in the first
half. The nine-point bulge was Wingate's largest of the night.
Anderson senior guard Oskars Ernsteins hit a 3 to give the Trojans
their first lead 31-29 at the 6:59 mark.
A Turner inside basket put Wingate up 39-36 with 2:35 remaining,
but Ernsteins hit another downtown basket at 1:41 to tie the score
at 39-39 as the two teams entered the halftime locker room.
Trull and Ernsteins helped the Anderson bench outscore the Wingate
substitutes 30-19. Trull was three-for-five from beyond the arc in
the opening 20 minutes. Ernsteins hit two-of-four downtown shots in
the first half. Wingate outshot Anderson in the first half, hitting
54.5 percent of its shots (12-of-22). Anderson converted 51.7
percent (15-of-29) of its first-half field goals.
Anderson made 11-of-25 three-point field goals (44 percent).
Wingate hit five-of-17 from downtown (29.4 percent). The Bulldogs
outrebounded the Trojans 30-21, thanks to seven from Turner and six
from Matilus. Wingate hit 32-of-36 free throws (88.9 percent),
while Anderson converted 12-of-16 from the charity stripe (75
percent).
Cornwell led Anderson with 21 points. He hit 10-of-14 field
goals and dished out a team-high three assists. Trull had 17 points
off the bench. He hit four-of-eight three-point field goals. Young
added 14 points.
Wingate's Turner had 23 points and seven rebounds to lead the
Bulldogs. Chase Smith had 17 points. Matilus and Ethan Kincaid
contributed 16 and 14 points, respectively.
Anderson closes out the regular season with a visit to
Carson-Newman on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. versus the
Eagles at Holt Fieldhouse.
