ANDERSON, S.C. - Anderson senior guard Myson Jones equaled his career-high with 22 points, but the Anderson University men's basketball team opened its home slate with a narrow, 71-68, setback to visiting Lenoir-Rhyne in South Atlantic Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.

Anderson slipped to 1-3 overall and 0-1 on the young season, while Lenoir-Rhyne (1-3, 1-1 SAC) claimed its first win at the Abney Center in five visits.

Jones was 5-of-12 from the field and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line on the afternoon, while dishing out a pair of assists. Senior guard Alani Adekambi added 12 points, while guard Nick Jackson tallied 11 points and five rebounds. Redshirt freshman forward Matt McClain came off the bench to post seven points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes of action.

Lenoir-Rhyne junior Will Perry led all scorers with 37 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. The 5-foot-11 guard was a perfect 14-of-14 from the line. Reed Lucas added 11 points, with Justice Morgan chipping in 10 points for the Bears.

The game was tied seven times and the lead changed hands on eight occasions - all in the opening half.

The Bears opened the contest by going 3-of-5 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, while L-R's Jake Wilson capped the opening outburst with a layup to give Lenoir-Rhyne an 8-0 lead three minutes into the game.

Steven Faust got the Trojans on the scoreboard with one-of-two from the line, while AU outscored the Bears 12-3 over the next four minutes to take its first lead, at 13-11, with 13 minutes left in the opening half. After Adekambi and Perry traded 3-pointers, Jones and Jackson buried long-distance treys, with Adekambi adding his second 3-pointer in less than three minutes to polish off the surge.

Perry countered with a pair of free throws to knot the score for the first time in the contest with 12:28 left in the frame, then both teams suffered a scoring drought of more than three minutes. Perry connected on two from the line to break the deadlock, with the teams exchanging the lead three times over the next 2:58.

A 3-pointer by Jones with just more than six minutes on the clock gave the Trojans their largest lead of the game, at 23-20, but the Bears quickly evened the score again. L-R's Rob Noyes dropped in a jumper to give the visitors a narrow lead, which they held until just more than a minute was left in the opening half. With AU trailing by two, Jackson dropped in a layup while drawing a foul and connected on the free throw for a traditional three-point play. But Perry responded with his fourth 3-pointer of the half to give the Bears a 36-34 halftime edge.

Lenoir-Rhyne opened the second stanza with a 15-6 run to open an 11-point advantage - its largest lead of the game, before the Trojans answered with a 14-5 outburst of their own, to battle back within 56-54 with more than 11 minutes remaining in the contest. Jones scored six points during the comeback, with Tre' Fields and McClain each adding three apiece.

The Bears countered with four straight free throws, with AU's Adekambi and Maurice Howard responding with four to keep the deficit at two with 7:37 left. Jones dropped in a pair of free throws with 4:22 on the clock to even the score at 62 apiece, but L-R's Morgan connected on a trey to regain the lead and the Trojans were unable to overtake L-R down the stretch. Jones drained two free throws with 44 seconds left to pull the Trojans within 69-68, but Perry grabbed his own miss on the other end and dropped in the put-back to give L-R the three-point edge. AU was unable to connect on a game-tying basket in the final moments.

Anderson returns to action on Tuesday, when the Trojans play host to 23rd-ranked Lincoln Memorial in a rare Tuesday night South Atlantic Conference matchup. Tip-off versus the Railsplitters is slated for 8 p.m. at the Abney Center.