ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson men's basketball team was unable to overcome a slow start and opened its home slate with a 92-83 setback to archrival Erskine, Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
Anderson slipped to 1-2 on the season, while Erskine (1-2) won its second straight decision in the rivalry and claimed a point in the Beville Cup standings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Sophomore guard Randall Shaw led the Trojans with 23 points, while sophomore guard Andrew Boynton poured in a career-high 16 points on the strength of four 3-pointers. Junior guard Maurice Howard added 12 points and dished out a game-high six assists, with sophomore guard Shawn Benard chipping in 10 points and recording four assists in 15 minutes of action. Sophomore forward Jeremy Bouton claimed game-high rebounding honors with a career-high 12 boards and junior center Lester Rochez came off the bench to grab seven rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Trojans were outrebounded for the first time this season, but outscored the Flying Fleet, 34-12, in the paint and converted a dozen Erskine turnovers into 18 points. However, the Fleet connected on a red-hot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from beyond the arc while AU was unable to drop in a trey until nearly 12 minutes had expired in the opening frame.
First Half
After the Flying Fleet scored the first points of the contest on a 3-pointer from senior Joby Glymph, Anderson rattled off seven consecutive points to take a four-point lead less than three minutes into the contest. The advantage proved to be the Trojans' largest of the night, as Erskine countered with a 16-1 scoring outburst which was fueled by three treys in a two-minute span.
With just more than 13 minutes remaining in the opening half, the Flying Fleet were shooting 70 percent from the field and were 4-of-5 from long range, while opening the 19-8 lead.
After opening the game by going just 2-for-10, the Trojans finally warmed up and answered by posting an 11-5 run to trim the EC lead to just five, with Shaw and freshman guard Christian Jeffords combining for nine of the Trojans' points. But the Flying Fleet responded with three consecutive 3-pointers, including two by Glymph, to rebuild their cushion to 33-19 with 6:16 remaining in the half.
With Erskine still holding a 13-point advantage at the 4:22 mark, Shaw triggered a 15-2 surge that saw AU knot the score for the first time of the night, at 42 apiece with just more than a minute left. Boynton drained three treys during the run, while Shaw added a twisting, driving layup.
Erskine's Zezmon Steeple capped the frantic first half with Erskine's eighth 3-pointer of the opening 20 minutes.
Second Half
Shaw opened the second stanza with his second trey of the game to knot the score for just the second time, but with the score even at 47-47 moments later, the Fleet posted a 10-2 run to take a lead they would not surrender.
AU battled back within three midway through the half, but was unable to overtake the Fleet, which rebuilt a 13-point lead with less than three minutes on the clock. Behind a 9-2 run, the Trojans pulled within 85-79 on another 3-pointer from Boynton with 49.3 seconds remaining, but Erskine connected on 7-of-8 free throws inside the final minute to seal the victory.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Trojans handed out 12 assists, while turning the ball over just six times.
NOTABLES
• Despite the slow start from beyond the arc, the Trojans drained a season—high eight 3-pointers.
• Maurice Howard has dished out at least four assists in all three games.
UP NEXT
Anderson goes back on the road for a pair of contests, beginning at Limestone, Saturday. Tip-off versus the Saints in Gaffney is set for 4 p.m.
