SALISBURY, N.C. – Junior guard Jordan Jeffries sank two free throws with 3.2 seconds on the clock to provide the winning margin, as the Anderson men's basketball team wrapped up the first half of its double round-robin South Atlantic Conference schedule by escaping with a thrilling, 92-91, win over Catawba, Wednesday night at Goodman Gym.
"I am not sure I have ever been more proud of a team then I am of this group right now," said Anderson head coach Jeff Brookman. "The ability to fight through adversity when everything is going against you is a sign of mental toughness. Yes, we made a lot of mistakes the last six minutes of the game, but for about 34 minutes we played great basketball on both ends of the floor. We will enjoy this one until we get off the bus and then it's time to stay level and focused on the next."
Anderson (10-7, 5-6 SAC) has won three of its last four decisions and six of its last nine outings, while snapping a two-game skid at the hands of the Indians.
Catawba (11-6, 6-5 SAC), which has bounced in and out of the top-25 this season, suffered its fourth straight loss after climbing as high as No. 16 in the national polls.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Freshman guard Crosby James notched a career-high scoring effort for the second time in as many games, as the Columbia, S.C., native came off the bench to pour in a game-high 27 points on 8-of-12 shooting and was a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond the arc. Senior guard Shawn Benard netted 22 points, including 14 in the second half, and dished out a game-high seven assists. The native of Mobile, Ala., was 8-of-11 from the field and drained all six of his free throw attempts.
Junior guard Quin Nottingham added 17 points, six rebounds and three assists, while sophomore center Jason Edwards scored 11 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Satchel Hester chipped in 10 points.
Senior guard Devin Cooper paced the Indians with 22 points on the night, with teammate Malik Constantine adding 19 points. Junior guard Larry McLeod nearly posted a double-double with 16 points and nine boards, while Marcell Haskett notched 13 points in a reserve role. Senior forward Daquan Lilly tallied 10 points for the Indians.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The opening frame featured six ties and three lead changes, with neither team able to build more than a five-point lead inside the first 10 minutes.
Benard's jumper at the 10:04 mark broke a 19-19 deadlock and ignited an 8-0 surge by the Trojans, with Nottingham connecting on a pair of baskets to help fuel the run before Benard dropped in a layup to give AU a 27-19 advantage with 8:23 on the clock. Lilly slowed the Trojans with a free throw, but AU's breakout didn't end there, as James followed with nine straight points over the next 1:43 for the Black and Gold, bookending his streak with 3-pointers and boosting the lead to 36-20.
Four minutes later, the Indians scored five straight points to trim AU's lead to single digits (39-30), but Benard boosted the advantage back to 11 with a layup just before the horn.
Second Half
With Edwards scoring four of the Trojans' first six points of the half and Nottingham - who notched six points in the first frame – pouring in nine straight points, AU used a 13-6 run to claim an 18-point lead, at 56-38, with less than 15 minutes remaining in the contest.
Less than a minute later, Benard converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Trojans a 19-point lead and they held at least a 14-point margin for the next seven minutes – until Benard's second traditional three-point play gave AU its largest lead of the night (75-55) with 7:41 on the clock.
From that point on, the Trojans connected on just two field goals over the final 6:16, while Catawba chipped away at the AU lead. Following Benard's jumper, the Indians used a 24-8 scoring outburst to knot the score for the seventh time of the night – and the first time since the 10:15 mark of the first half – at 88 apiece, with just 40 seconds remaining.
With 12.9 seconds on the clock, James drew a foul and connected on 1-of-2 from the line to give AU a tenuous one-point lead. Following a Catawba timeout, the Trojan defense stepped up and forced the Indians into an offensive foul before they could get off a potential game-winning shot.
Catawba then sent Keel to the line, where the Oviedo, Fla., native connected on 1-of-2, giving AU a 90-88 edge with 3.5 seconds left. The Indians called anther timeout, but committed their second straight costly turnover and Jeffries calmly stepped to the line and nailed both free throws to give AU some breathing room, at 92-88, with McLeod hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to set the final margin.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Trojans scorched the nets for a season-high 57.1 field-goal shooting percentage by going 32-of-56 from the field.
NOTABLES
• AU's 92 points marked the Trojans' highest offensive output this season and equaled the 92 points scored against Newberry last February.
• The Trojans handed out 13 assists – the highest tally since dishing out 19 assists versus Limestone in mid-December.
• AU has pulled down at least seven offensive rebounds in four straight games.
• Five Trojans reached double-figure scoring for the second time this season.
• Catawba won the battle of the boards, 38-27.
• Each team committed 17 turnovers on the night.
• The game featured four of the top 12 scorers in the league on the hardwood - AU's Quin Nottingham (1st) and Shawn Benard (12th) and Catawba's Devin Cooper (6th) Marcell Haskett (8th).
• The Trojans handed Catawba its third home loss of the season.
• AU improved to 5-4 on the road this season.
• The Trojans hold a 16-11 advantage in the all-time series with Catawba.
• Seven players fouled out of the contest (Three Trojans and a pair of Indians).
UP NEXT
Anderson opens up the second half of its SAC slate with a two-game homestand. The Trojans will be looking to avenge an earlier 90-75 loss to UVa-Wise when AU plays host to the Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.
