Big Second Half Propels No. 3 Queens Past Trojans

Big Second Half Propels No. 3 Queens Past Trojans

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The junior tandem of Jeremy Bouton and Andrew Boynton combined for 30 points and senior Maurice Howard added 10 points, but Anderson dropped a 91-68 decision to nationally third-ranked Queens in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action, Saturday afternoon inside the Levine Center at Curry Arena.    

Anderson (7-13, 5-7 SAC) fell for the first time in three outings, while Queens (20-1, 12-1 SAC), the preseason favorite to win the SAC title, won its fourth straight decision after suffering its only loss of the season to fifth-ranked Lincoln Memorial in mid-January.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Bouton led the Trojans with 20 points behind a career-high six 3-pointers and also pulled down five rebounds. Boynton netted 10 points, with Howard adding 10 points, a game-high seven rebounds and seven assists. Freshman guard Myliek Durham chipped in a career-high nine points in 25 minutes of action.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The Trojans led three times early behind three treys, including a pair of 3-pointers from Bouton – one from the left corner to open the game's scoring and one from the right corner at the 17:46 mark – that offset a pair of free throws and a layup by the Royals.

Following another basket and two free throws that gave Queens a slim 8-6 advantage, Boynton connected on AU's third consecutive 3-pointer of the opening five minutes that gave the Black and Gold a 9-8 lead with 15:31 left in the first half. The two teams traded baskets and following a layup by senior Rakish Taylor, Boynton nailed his second 3-pointer of the afternoon to boost the Trojan cushion to six, at 16-10, with less than 13 minutes left in the first half.

Moments later, the Trojans equaled the six-point lead on Bouton's third trey, and a dunk from freshman Josh Livingston gave AU a 21-15 edge at the 11:07 mark. But the Trojans endured a scoring drought over the next seven minutes, scoring just three points over the time span and enabling the Royals to climb within 24-23 with less than four minutes on the clock.

But Durham sparked a 9-3 scoring outburst that saw AU claim a 33-26 lead with just 2:05 remaining, while Queens countered with a 7-2 surge of their own to set the Trojan lead at 35-33 at intermission.    

Second Half
Queens began the second frame with a 12-2 run in the opening 4:03 to take a lead it would not relinquish, at 45-37. Following a 30-second timeout, AU trimmed the deficit to just 45-41, but the Royals countered with 12 unanswered points to claim a double-digit 57-41 advantage with 12:29 remaining.

NOTABLES
•    Queens, which entered the game ranked second in the league in rebounding margin (+9.6), outrebounded AU, 36-28.
•    The Trojans shot 52 percent from the field (26-of-50) against the Royals, who entered the game holding opponents to 40 percent field goal accuracy.  
•    Maurice Howard has recorded 21 assists in the last three games.
•    The Trojan defense has forced Queens into 30 turnovers in the two regular-season meetings.
•    AU has averaged 14.6 assists and 10.7 turnovers in the last three games.

UP NEXT
The Trojans wrap up their two-game SAC road swing at Carson-Newman on Wednesday. AU will be looking earn a split of the regular-season series after dropping an 81-65 decision to the Eagles back on Dec. 6 at the Abney Center. Tipoff versus the Eagles is set for 8 p.m. in Jefferson City, Tenn.