ANDERSON, S.C. – After battling Piedmont Division-leading Catawba to a stalemate through the opening 20 minutes, the Anderson men's basketball team was unable to withstand a withering second-half attack by the Indians and dropped an 89-76 decision, Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
"Tonight was a tale of two halves," said Anderson head coach Jimmie Williams. "We played much cleaner offensively and guarded well in the first half. Their pressure forced us into some tough turnovers that got them the lead. We also didn't guard the ball at the level necessary. All credit to them. They played really well and kept coming at us. They're 11-2 in the league for good reason. They play hard and are bought into what they're doing. Excited to turn the page and get back to work tomorrow. I love this team."
Anderson slipped to 7-16 overall and 4-9 in the South Atlantic Conference with its second consecutive home setback, while Catawba (16-6, 12-2 SAC) improved to 6-4 on the road this season with its 10th win in 12 outings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Sophomore guards Myles Jenkins and Jacksen Greco shared game-high scoring honors with 19 points apiece, with Jenkins grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out four assists. Greco was 6-of-8 from the field and also handed out four assists. Senior guard Mason Carver added 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals, while sophomore guard Jackson Gammons came off the bench to score 13 points and record a season-high seven rebounds.
Senior forward Adrian Scarborough led four Indians in double figures with 15 points. Junior guard DeAngelo Epps netted 13 points, while sophomore Peyton Gerald and junior Javeon Jones each tallied 11 points apiece, with Jones grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Despite going more than six minutes without a field goal and just four free throws during that time span, the Trojans held their own throughout the opening frame, with Greco and Gammons combining to score 15 of AU's 23 points through the first 11 minutes of action.
Gammons sandwiched a jumper and a 3-pointer around a layup by Ian Thomson to fuel a run of seven unanswered points as the Trojans snapped the sixth tie score of the night (16-16) and claimed a 23-16 advantage with 9:03 on the clock.
But Catawba responded with 10 unanswered points of its own, as part of a 12-1 surge that gave the Indians a brief 28-24 lead with just a little more than four minutes left in the half. After falling behind by five less than a minute later, the Trojans whittled away at the deficit and took a 37-34 lead on three free throws from Greco with 39 seconds remaining, before Jones knotted the score for the eighth and final time on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from deep on the right wing.
Second Half
Catawba opened the second half with nine straight points as part of a 20-4 outburst in the opening six minutes of the frame and the Trojans were unable to recover.
The Indians built their largest lead of the contest, at 67-48, midway through the half and AU could get no closer than 11 in the waning moments.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Trojans were 30-of-58 (51.7%) from the field for their fourth-highest shooting percentage of the season, but were just 5-of-21 (23.8%) from long range, for their third-lowest 3-point shooting accuracy of the season.
NOTABLES
• With five games remaining in the regular season, the Trojans are in 5th place in the battle for one of the four Piedmont Division berths in next month's SAC Tournament.
• AU trails 4th-place Coker by one game.
• The Trojans trail second-place Wingate by five games and have been eliminated from hosting a SAC Quarterfinal matchup.
• Three of the Trojans' remaining five regular-season contests are on the road.
• Four Trojans reached double figures in the scoring column for the 11th time this season.
• The Indians edged AU, 37-35, in the rebounding battle and pulled down 13 offensive rebounds.
• Catawba converted 18 Trojan turnovers into 28 points.
• The Trojans and Indians have met 34 times since the 1995-96 season, including 31 occasions since the 2009-10 campaign, with the series now deadlocked at 17 wins apiece.
• Catawba has won six straight in the series.
UP NEXT
The Trojans open their final two-game road swing of the season by traveling to Carson-Newman, Saturday afternoon for the lone meeting of the season against the Eagles. Tip-off in Jefferson City is slated for 4 p.m.
