ANDERSON, S.C. – After nearly upsetting then No. 6 Queens back in late November, the Anderson men's basketball team saw five players reach double-figure scoring and pulled off the feat by topping the 17th-ranked Royals, 86-82, in South Atlantic Conference play, Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
"This was a game of runs," said Anderson head coach Jeff Brookman. "The guys made just enough winning plays down the stretch to win the game. I thought for the most part we played a complete game on the defensive end and in the second half our offense caught up to our defense."
Anderson (12-7, 7-6 SAC) avenged the earlier loss, while earning a split of the regular-season series and snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Royals.
Queens (14-5, 9-4 SAC), the two-time defending NCAA Southeast Region Tournament Champions and preseason favorite to with the regular-season SAC Championship, has dropped two straight decisions for the first time this season.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Junior guard Quin Nottingham led all scorers with 22 points, including 16 in the second half, and pulled down eight rebounds, while senior guard Shawn Benard added 19 points and dished out a game-high seven assists. Freshman guard Crosby James II came off the bench to net 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, with junior guard Alex Keel and sophomore forward Satchel Hester each scoring 10 points apiece. Freshman forward Mack Burgett added eight points and hauled in a career-high nine rebounds.
Queens sophomore Jermaine Patterson led six Royals in double figures with 16 points, while teammate Jay'Den Turner netted 15 points. Senior guard Daniel Carr added 14 points, with freshman forward Jamari Smith tallying 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Seniors Van Turner and Jachai Taylor each scored 11 points apiece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The Trojan offense struggled in the opening moments, with Hester's 3-pointer from the left corner their lone basket in six field goal attempts through the first 3:16 of the contest.
On the other end, Queens took advantage of early free throws to gain a quick 8-4 edge at the 16:44 mark and the AU offense then began to click, as Keel drained a trey from deep in the left corner to spark a surge of seven unanswered points by the Trojans as part of a huge 26-9 scoring outburst by the Black and Gold over the next eight minutes. Keel and Nottingham helped fuel the breakout with six points apiece, while Benard posted five and Burgett notched four.
AU thundered out to a double-digit, 30-17, lead with 8:29 remaining in the half on Nottingham's jumper. But the Trojans, who overcame the early woes to shoot nearly 53 percent through the first 12 minutes of the contest, then suffered through a scoring drought of nearly four minutes. Meanwhile, the Royals capitalized by scoring 14 straight points and captured a 31-30 lead – their first advantage since the 16:27 mark.
The final four minutes of the half featured four ties and two lead changes, with the two teams going into halftime in a 38-38 stalemate.
Second Half
Neither team was able to deliver a knockout blow through the opening nine minutes of the second frame, and with the score deadlocked at 54 apiece, AU reeled off an 18-4 run that saw the Trojans claim their largest lead of the contest, at 72-58, with 5:23 left.
AU, which improved to 10-1 on the season when leading with five minutes to go, saw the Royals slice its lead to just five (74-69) with more than two minutes on the clock.
The Trojans defense then stepped up, as Benard swiped the ball on the Royals' next possession and drove for a layup, while Keel notched a steal the next time downcourt and fed James for AU's second straight layup in a 13-second span, giving AU a 78-69 lead with 2:04 on the clock.
Up three possessions with more than two minutes on the clock, the Trojans were unable to breathe easy, as Queens whittled AU's lead to just 83-81 with 18.6 seconds remaining despite Nottingham and Hester going 5-for-6 at the charity stripe.
With the Trojans clinging to the two-point lead, Nottingham connected on the second of two free throw attempts to give AU an 84-81 lead. The Royals' Smith misfired on a game-tying three-point attempt, but Peanut Cunningham corralled the offensive rebound for Queens and drew a foul with 8.3 seconds left. The Louisville, Ky., native hit the first free throw, but missed the second and Nottingham grabbed the rebound.
Following a Trojan timeout, Queens sent Nottingham to the free throw line with 5.7 seconds on the clock. He was 6-of-8 from the free throw line on the night prior to stepping to the line and calmly sank both tosses to clinch the win, with the Royals missing one last three-point attempt.
'While this was a big win, we have to enjoy it for a short period of time and wake up focused on the next game" added Brookman. "We still have a lot to improve on as a team. I'm really proud of this team."
ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Trojans were 6-of-8 from the charity stripe in the final 1:42.
NOTABLES
• Eleven players reached double-figure scoring on the night, with five Trojans posting double figures for the third time this season.
• Tonight's game marked AU's fourth contest this season against a nationally-ranked team.
• The Trojans converted 13 Queens turnovers into 18 points.
• Queens out-rebounded the Trojans, 43-35
• The Trojans, who have pulled down at least seven offensive rebounds in six straight games, pulled down 11 offensive boards tonight.
• Shawn Benard has handed out at least four assists in six straight games.
• The Trojans have swiped at least five steals in six consecutive games.
• The Trojans are 2-2 against nationally-ranked teams this season.
• AU earned its third straight victory, its fifth win in six outings and eighth in 11 decisions.
• The Trojans improved to 7-2 at home this season.
• Queens holds a 32-10 advantage in the overall series.
• The Trojans earned their first win in the series since the 2013-14 campaign and their first victory in the Electric City since knocking off the Royals, 76-65, on March 5, 2014.
UP NEXT
Anderson will take its three-game win streak on the road to Carson-Newman, Saturday afternoon. The Trojans will be looking for a season sweep of the Eagles after defeating C-N, 75-71, in early December at the Abney Center. Tip-off in Jefferson City, Tenn. is scheduled for 4 p.m.
