MARS HILL, N.C. - Using a late surge from the free throw line, Anderson defeated Mars Hill, 74-66, in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Wednesday night at Stanford Arena.
Anderson improved to 11-12 overall and 7-10 in the conference by sweeping the season series with the Lions and winning its third game in four outings. Mars Hill fell to 9-14 overall and 4-13 in league action.
Senior Chris Ross recorded a team-high 15 points, while nearly recording his third double-double of the season by pulling down a game-high nine rebounds. The 6-foot-8 center also dished out a pair of assists and blocked three shots on the night. Senior guard Myson Jones added 14 points and four assists, while freshman guard Maurice Howard scored a career-high 14 points and handed out two assists.
Mars Hill junior guard Patrick Monroe led all scorers with 23 points on the strength of seven 3-pointers, with teammate Justin Yeargin tossing in 15 points and senior Isaiah Cuthbertson netting 11 points.
The Trojans scored the first seven points of the game, and with Ross and Matthew McClain combining to score Anderson's first nine points, the Trojans jumped out to a 9-2 lead less than five minutes into the contest. The combination of Ross and Alani Adekambi continued to fuel the outburst, with the Trojans pushing out to their largest lead of the game, at 19-7, with 10:37 left in the first half.
Midway through the opening half, the Trojans had connected on 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) from the field, while holding Mars Hill to just 21.4 percent (3-of-14) accuracy.
But the Lions quickly warmed up on their home hardwood by connecting on five straight field goals, including three from beyond the arc, and countered with a 14-2 surge to knot the score for the first time of the night, at 21 apiece, with more than six minutes left before halftime.
Anderson freshman Tre' Fields slowed the Lions' outburst with four straight points, including a 3-pointer and added one of two from the line following MHU's Brandon McCarter's free throw. DJ McGowan drained a 3-pointer with 3:13 on the clock to give AU a 29-22 lead and the Trojans went to the locker room holding a 33-28 lead.
Mars Hill trimmed an early Trojan second-half lead from six to just one, 38-37, at the 17:12 mark and Cuthbertson's layup less than three minutes later gave the Lions their first lead of the contest, at 39-38. Neither team managed to build more than a seven-point advantage over the remainder of the game, with the final 12 minutes featuring five ties and three lead changes.
After Adekambi's traditional three-point play gave the Trojans a 51-48 edge with 10:21 remaining, the Lions posted a 12-3 run over the next four-plus minutes to claim a 60-54 lead with less than six minutes on the clock. The Trojans responded with seven unanswered points as part of a 10-2 run to reclaim a brief 64-62 edge on a 3-pointer from Jones from the left side.
Cuthbertson evened the score at 64-64 less than 30 seconds later, but Howard countered with four straight points for AU, including a pair of free throws, to give the Trojans a lead they would not relinquish. Anderson was a perfect 8-of-8 from the line inside the final 97 seconds, while holding the Lions to a single layup in the final moments to claim their eighth consecutive win over the Lions.
Anderson wraps up the two-game road swing with its second
consecutive trip to the Tar Heel State and its second meeting of
the season with Catawba on Saturday. The Trojans will be looking
for a sweep of the season series after knocking off the Indians,
92-63, in the first meeting. Tip-off versus the Indians is slated
for 4 p.m.
