ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University men's basketball team wrapped up its brief two-game South Atlantic Conference homestand with a 94-77 setback to 18th-ranked Lincoln Memorial, Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
Anderson slipped to 7-8 overall and 5-4 in the league with its second consecutive loss, while Lincoln Memorial (11-4, 6-3 SAC), the defending Southeast Region Champions, has won three of its last four outings and eight of its last 10.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Junior guards Maurice Howard and Warren Vinson each scored a team-high 16 points for the Trojans, while sophomore guard Randall Shaw added 13 points.
Sophomore forward Jeremy Bouton and junior forward Luke Musselwhite netted eight points apiece, while freshman center Carlos Dotson pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The Trojans connected on four of their first five field goal attempts, including their first three 3-pointers and jumped out to a 13-6 lead inside the game's first four minutes behind a quick seven points from Howard and six from Shaw.
Following a timeout, the Railsplitters countered with nine unanswered points as part of an 18-4 run that gave the visitors a lead they would not surrender. Lincoln Memorial steadily crept out to their largest lead of the contest, 52-27, with 13 seconds left in the opening half before Vinson nailed a deep trey from the top of the circle to set the 52-30 halftime score.
Second Half
With the Railsplitters holding a 59-37 advantage less than four minutes into the second stanza, Vinson connected on a jumper to spark a 14-3 surge by the Trojans that got AU within 62-51. The 5-foot-11 junior from Rock Hill, S.C. fueled the outburst with 10 straight points, but the Trojans would get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Trojan bench outscored the LMU reserves, 33-21.
NOTABLES
• The Trojans are 74-of-157 (47.1%) from beyond the arc over the last seven games.
• AU has averaged 87.7 points per game in their last seven contests.
• Freshman Carlos Dotson has already posted five double-doubles this season.
UP NEXT
The Trojans open a two-game conference road swing by traveling to Wingate, Saturday afternoon and wrap up the first half of the league's double round robin slate by visiting Carson-Newman a week from tonight. Tip-off versus the Bulldogs is set for 4 p.m.