HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Sophomore guard Myles Jenkins led four Trojans in double figures and notched his fifth double-double of the campaign, but the Anderson men's basketball team simultaneously opened the calendar year and a two-game South Atlantic Conference road swing with an, 89-78, setback to Coker, Saturday afternoon at the DeLoach Center.
"Tough shooting night for us on the road tonight," said Anderson head coach Jimmie Williams. "We have to get to the point where we can rely on our ability to get stops consistently to win games, rather than good shooting nights - especially on the road. That starts with me. We will watch it and clean up our mistakes. We lost their best shooters too many times today and it cost us. We also fouled the shooter too many times. It seemed like every time they shot it they were on the ground. Give them credit, they made big plays after every run we went on. We are far from a finished product but I love this team, and I'm excited to get back to work."
Coming off a seven-day layoff, Anderson slipped to 4-10 overall and 1-3 in league play, while seeing its win streak halted at two. Coker (10-6, 4-2 SAC)
has won four of its last five outings and halted a seven-game losing streak against the Trojans.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Jenkins nearly had his double-double by halftime and finished the afternoon with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds. The Lexington native was 9-for-18 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. He also swiped a pair of steals. Freshman guard Luke Denbow added 16 points – all in the second half – and dished out a pair of assists.
Junior guard Garrett Denbow netted 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, while grabbing three rebounds. Sophomore guard Jacksen Greco tallied 11 points and six boards, while junior forward Mack Burgett also pulled down six rebounds and handed out a team-high four assists to go along with five points.
Junior guard Jordan Jones led five Cobras in double figures with 18 points and recorded nine assists. Junior forward Tate Mulkey and Jamie Muldowney posted 17 points and 14 points, respectively, while Mahmoud Bangura notched 11 points and Zavier Measmer had 10.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
With Jenkins scoring seven of the Trojans' first eight points, AU took an 8-6 lead on his old-fashioned three-point play with 16:16 on the clock. The lead turned out to be the Trojans' last advantage of the afternoon, as they went scoreless over the next 4:11, which enabled the Cobras to score eight unanswered points and the home team would not trail again.
After falling behind, 17-10, AU answered with nine straight points of their own to knot the score for the second time of the day, at 17-17, with 9:14 left in the half. Coker regained the lead behind a 7-2 surge before the Trojans trimmed the deficit to just one (24-23) at the 6:28 mark.
After the two teams traded baskets, the Cobras scored 10 straight points to build a double-digit lead, at 36-25, with just a little more than two minutes left on Measmer's rare-four point play and the Trojans were unable to fully recover.
Second Half
After Coker's Glenn Bynum opened the second half with a trey to give the Cobras a 43-30 advantage in the opening seconds, Burgett sparked a 12-2 run for the Trojans that was fueled by eight points from Garrett Denbow and capped by a layup from Jenkins that brought AU within 51-44 with less than 16 minutes on the clock.
But the Cobras then drained six straight free throws to rebuild the double-digit lead and the Trojans were unable to get closer than eight the rest of the way.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
The Trojans were 8-for-28 (28.6%) from beyond the arc, for their second lowest long-range accuracy of the season.
NOTABLES
• Myles Jenkins (5) and Mack Burgett (2) have combined for seven double-doubles this season and the Trojans are on pace to challenge the 2016-17 team for most double-doubles in a season since joining the SAC - that team recorded 12 double-doubles ... Carlos Dotson recorded nine double-doubles during the 2016-17 season and Rakish Taylor posted eight double-doubles during the 2015-16 campaign.
• The Trojans have dished out double-figure assists in 13 consecutive games.
• AU has shot better than 70% from the free throw line in five consecutive games.
• Luke Denbow has made at least one 3-pointer in all 14 contests.
• The game featured six of the top-18 most prolific scorers in the league.
• Coker out-rebounded the Trojans, 35-34.
• The Trojans outscored Coker, 12-5, in second-chance points.
• Anderson holds a 25-17 advantage in the overall series between the two programs.
• AU is now 3-5 vs. Coker at the DeLoach Center.
UP NEXT
The Trojans will wrap up their two-game SAC road swing with their second meeting in four weeks - and first of two matchups at Cuddy Arena - against Wingate on Wednesday. Tip-off against the Bulldogs is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
