GREENWOOD, S.C. – With both teams using a fast, up-tempo pace, the Flagler men's basketball team out-dueled Anderson, 110-90, in the Trojans' second appearance at the Southeast Region Challenge, Saturday afternoon, at Lander's Finis Horne Arena.
In a contest that featured 17 ties and 16 lead changes, Flagler scored 12 unanswered points during a pivotal four-minute span midway through the second half, as the Saints turned a six-point Trojan lead into a six-point Flagler advantage with just more than eight minutes left in the contest.
The Trojans connected on just six of their final 16 field goal attempts over the final 7:51, which enabled Flagler to build a double-digit cushion (96-85) with less than five minutes left in the game.
Anderson slipped to 0-2 on the young season, while Flagler moved to 2-0 with its second win in less than 24 hours and snapped a two-game skid at the hands of the Trojans.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
A combined nine players reached double figures in the scoring column – five Saints and four Trojans – with AU sophomore guard Myles Jenkins posting his first career double-double with a career-high 20 points and a career-best 15 rebounds. Sophomore guard Garrett Denbow, who scored 10 of AU's first 12 points, added 19 points and a pair of assists, while going 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
Sophomore guard Jacksen Greco also notched 19 points and pulled down six rebounds, with freshman guard Luke Denbow, who netted a game-high 25 points in Friday night's game, tallying 17 points and dishing out a team-high five assists against the Saints.
Flagler sophomore guard Jaylen Lemons led all scorers with 28 points, including 17 in the first half. Junior guard Malik Bryant netted 25 points for the Saints.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Flagler was hot over the first 20 minutes, shooting 56.1 percent from the field, but Trojans were sizzling from long range – going 10-for-16 (62.5%) in the opening half.
If fans only perused the box score, they'd surprised to know that the Trojans got off to a slow start for the second straight day, as they misfired on their first four field goal attempts. But Garrett Denbow broke the ice by getting the Trojans on the scoreboard with a pair of technical-foul free throws at the 17:42 mark and added a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner six seconds later on the ensuing possession to give AU a brief 5-2 advantage.
The lead was short-lived, however, as the two teams traded the lead two more times over the next two minutes. After falling behind 15-10 at the 14:43 mark, Jenkins dropped in a layup and Deakin Pereira drained back-to-back treys from each side of the top of the arc, while Greco's old-fashioned three-point play with 12 minutes left in the half gave AU another brief edge – at 21-19.
The score was deadlocked five more times over the next four minutes, with the Trojans breaking a 33-33 tie with a 6-2 run only to see Flagler counter to claim a 40-39 lead. Luke Denbow then triggered an 11-3 run with AU taking a 50-43 advantage.
The Saints battled back to knot the score two more times before AU took a 60-57 lead into halftime.
Second Half
The first seven minutes of the second half featured three more ties, with Jenkins fueling an 11-4 surge with seven points and giving AU a 79-73 lead with 12:19 on the clock and setting the stage for Flagler's comeback.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
The 60 first-half points by the Trojans marked AU's highest scoring half since posting 58 points in a loss to Catawba last January and netting 58 points in a win over Newberry in January, 2019. The 30 second-half points marked the lowest-scoring half since scoring 28 points in the first half of a 48-45 loss to Erskine on Nov. 18, 2017.
NOTABLES
• The Trojans kept pace with Flagler in the opening half by shooting 52.8 percent (19-of-36) from the field, including a torrid 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from beyond the arc. AU was 9-of-20 (45.0%) from inside the arc during the first half.
• AU cooled off to go just 1-for-9 (11.1%)from long range in the second half.
• For the second straight game AU won the rebounding battle, 40-37, and pull down an impressive 10 offensive rebounds.
• The largest lead for either team through the first 29 minutes was seven points.
• Saturday's matchup marked just the fourth meeting in school history between the Trojans and Saints.
• The brief all-time series with the Saints is even at two wins apiece.
• AU slipped to 11-11 in Conference Challenge matchups.
• Myles Jenkins notched his first career double-double.
UP NEXT
The Trojans will wrap up their season-opening three-game road trip by visiting another Peach Belt Conference opponent - USC Aiken – on Wednesday. It will mark AU's first visit to the Convocation Center since the 2016-17 campaign and just the fourth visit in school history. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
