LAKELAND, Fla. – A slow start by Anderson, coupled with red-hot second-half shooting by Saint Leo doomed the Trojans, as the Lions claimed a 92-62 win in nonconference man's basketball action, Saturday afternoon at Florida Southern's Terrace Hotel Thanksgiving Classic, at the Moccasins' Jenkins Field House.
Anderson (2-5) dropped its second straight decision in the Sunshine State, while Saint Leo (3-3) snapped a brief two-game skid with the victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Junior guard Garrett Denbow paced the Trojans with 19 points, including 10 in the second half and seven of AU's first eight points in the second frame. The Ashland, Ohio native was 7-of-12 from the field. Junior forward Mack Burgett tossed in nine points on 4-of-5 shooting accuracy, while grabbing three rebounds and blocking two shots.
Freshman guard Luke Denbow added eight points and three assists, with sophomore guard Jacksen Greco also netting eight points, pulling down three rebounds and handing out a pair of assists. Sophomore guard Myles Jenkins recorded seven points, six rebounds and a game-high four assists in limited action. Freshman forward Deakin Pereira pulled down a team-high, season-high eight rebounds and chipped in five points.
Saint Leo senior guard Kanon Koster scored a game-high 29 points, while senior forward Marty Jackson added 22 points. Teammate Cantia Rahming tallied 14 points and sophomore guard Grant Disken had 11.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Less than 24 hours after notching their highest field-goal shooting percentage of the season, at 51.5 percent, the Trojans started out Saturday's game by going 5–of-15 from the field, including 1–of-8 from long range.
The Lions connected on five of their first eight field-goal attempts, while AU opened cold - connecting on just 1-of-5 and turning the ball over three times in the early going, which allowed St. Leo to take an 11-3 lead with a little less than four minutes gone in the first half.
AU got within six at the 14:57 mark, but the Lions countered with an 8-1 run over the next two minutes to open a 13 point lead, at 19–6. The Trojans sliced the deficit to single digits four times before getting within seven when Burgett converted an old-fashioned three-point play to get AU within just 28–21 with more than four minutes remaining in the half.
The Lions rebuilt an 11-point advantage, only to see the Trojans answer and get within just two possessions (36-31) on the second of Garrett Denbow's back-to-back 3-pointers – this time from deep in the right corner – with 70 seconds before intermission. St Leo countered with a dunk 27 seconds later and took a 38-31 lead at the half.
Second Half
The Trojans chipped away and got within three, at 42–39, on Garrett's 16th point of the afternoon with 17: 23 left in the contest. But the Lions countered with a 9–2 surge to rebuild a double-digit, 10-point advantage (51-41) at the 14:26 mark and AU was unable to get any closer than seven the rest of the way, with the Lions pulling away during the final minutes.
STAT OF THE DAY
Saint Leo converted 16 Trojan miscues into 31 points.
NOTABLES
• Saturday afternoon's matchup marked the first meeting in program history between the two schools.
• St. Leo won the rebounding battle, 35-29.
• The Trojans' 36 3-point field goal attempts were just three shy of the program record set, Feb. 20, 1999 against Lees-McRae.
• AU posted its second-lowest field goal shooting percentage of the season (40.7%), while St. Leo notched the second-highest shooting percentage by an opponent (57.4%).
• The Trojans have connected on double-digit 3-pointers in six straight games.
• The Trojans have dished out double-figure assists in six consecutive games.
• The Trojans have committed double-figure turnovers in seven straight games.
• Opponents have shot at least 50 percent from the field against the Trojans in six consecutive games.
• Garrett Denbow has reached double-figure scoring in six straight games.
UP NEXT
The Trojans open a two-game nonconference homestand by playing host to Livingstone on Wednesday at the Abney Athletic Center. Tip-off vs. the Blue Bears is set for 7 p.m.
