MARS HILL, N.C. – A second-half scoring outburst lifted the Anderson men's basketball team to a 76-65 victory over Mars Hill in the South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams, Tuesday night at Stanford Arena.
Anderson (2-3, 1-0 SAC) snapped a two-game skid and improved to 5-2 in SAC openers since joining the league for the 2010-11 season, while Mars Hill slipped to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in conference action with its third loss in four outings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Despite 16 offensive rebounds by the Lions, AU out-rebounded Mars Hill by four on the night and the Trojans continued their hot shooting by connecting on 25-of-49 from the field.
Sophomore guard Randall Shaw led all scorers with 21 points, including 14 in the decisive second half, on 8-of-15 shooting. Forward Jeremy Bouton added a season-high 14 points and shared team-high rebounding honors with eight boards. The sophomore from Orlando, Fla. was 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Fellow sophomore Andrew Boynton came off the bench to score 14 points and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the line in the closing moments. Freshman guard Chance Prandy added six points and eight rebounds, while freshman center Carlos Dotson grabbed six rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Despite three early turnovers, the Trojans scored the first four points of the contest and held Mars Hill scoreless until the Lions' Vernon Jackson sank the second of two free throw attempts with 17:03 on the clock, with a 3-pointer from Charles Moore pulling the Lions even at four apiece a little more than a minute later.
The first half was slow-paced offensively, as the two squads combined to go just 3-for-14 in the opening five minutes of play, with AU committing six turnovers. But back-to-back 3-pointers from the right side – first by Jeremy Bouton and then from Christian Jeffords – snapped a four-minute scoreless stretch by the Black and Gold and gave AU a 10-4 edge with 13:11 left in the half.
However the Lions countered with six unanswered points to knot the score for the second time of the night with less than 11 minutes left in the frame. Boynton slowed the Lions by burying a 3-pointer from deep in the right corner, but Mars Hill posted five straight points to take their first lead of the contest, at 15-13.
After the teams traded layups, sophomore Randall Shaw nailed his first 3-pointer of the night to ignite a 9-2 outburst. Junior Luke Musselwhite dropped in a put-back, with Howard and Shaw capping the run with a layup and a pair of free throws to give AU its' largest of the half at 26-19 with 3:36 on the clock.
But three consecutive treys by three different Lions inside the final three minutes propelled Mars Hill to a 28-26 advantage before Shaw added a layup to close the first half scoring and even the score at 28-apiece at the break.
Second Half
The final stanza featured four ties and seven lead changes in the first eight minutes of the half, with Mars Hill opening the second half with a 9-4 run to take its largest lead, 37-32, at the first media timeout. Shaw answered with four straight points on a pair of free throws and followed with a layup 23 seconds later to pull AU within 37-36 at the 14:34 mark.
Prandy and Bouton sandwiched three free throws around a jumper by MHU's Makyle Wilkerson to knot the score at 40-40 with more than 12 minutes remaining. After Moore connected on two free throws to briefly regain the lead for the Lions, Shaw's basket capped a flurry of lead changes and gave the Trojans a lead they would not surrender.
With AU clinging to a 46-45 advantage midway through the half, Boynton connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to spark a 13-0 scoring outburst from the Trojans as part of a 21-4 surge that built AU's cushion to 67-49 with less than three minutes to play.
The Lions trimmed AU's lead to 10 with 42 seconds remaining but were unable to get within single digits, as the Trojans went 9-of-12 from the free throw line in the final two minutes to seal the win.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE GAME
The Trojans shot a season-high 77.8 percent (21-of-27) from the free throw line.
NOTABLES
• The Trojans are 2-1 on the season when leading with five minutes to go.
• Shaw has averaged 22.7 points over last three games.
• Bouton has averaged 7.3 rebounds over the last three games.
• Howard has dished out 15 total assists in the last three contests.
• Shaw has reached the 20+ point plateau the last four games.
• For the first time this season, the Trojans made more free throws than their opponent.
• The Trojans and Lions were even at 28-28 in points in the paint – AU has not been outscored in the paint this season.
UP NEXT
Following a five-day break for the Thanksgiving Holiday, the Trojans play host to Southern Wesleyan, Monday night. Tip-off versus the Warriors is set for 7 p.m.
