HICKORY, N.C. – The Anderson University (12-9, 7-6 SAC) men's basketball team was able to outscore Lenoir-Rhyne (11-11, 6-8 SAC) by ten points in the second half to wrap up the 76-69 win over the Bears in Shuford Memorial Arena on Wednesday, February 7.

Senior Garrett Denbow (Ashland, Ohio) led all scorers with 25 points on the night, including a clutch nine points to start the second half of action for the Trojans. Senior Mack Burgett (Richmond, Va.) was a force on the floor as he was able to record seven rebounds to go with his team high eight assist. Sophomore Cole Middleton (Atlanta, Ga.) corralled eight boards to lead the squad.

After taking down the Bears by 40 points just a few weekends ago, the Trojans looked poised to go on an early offensive run against them, opening the contest with the first four points, but LR was able to battle back and keep that margin intact at the first media with Anderson leading 14-10. The Black and Gold continued to extend that lead over the next four minutes, boosting their lead to five at the next stoppage, but Lenoir-Rhyne started chipping into that lead and brought it back down to just one point with 7:34 to play in the first half. 

That trend continued for the Bears over the remainder of the opening stanza as they were able to carry a three-point advantage into the halftime break.

Anderson came out of the break on fire as Garrett Denbow knocked down three straight three-point baskets to swing the lead back to the Trojans side of the scoreboard, forcing an early timeout from LR. The Bears were able to keep the game close, and even take the lead on occasion over the first ten minutes of the second half, but it was the Trojans that held the lead down the stretch in the pivotal final five minutes of action. At the final media timeout of the game, the Black and Gold were holding on to a four-point advantage that the Bears chipped into multiple times but with each attack the Trojans responded in kind and further extended their advantage down the stretch to take the 76-69 win.

Anderson returns to action on Saturday, February 10 as they play host to Coker at 4 p.m. in the Abney Athletic Center.