GAFFNEY, S.C. – The Anderson men's basketball team was unable to overcome a late second-half scoring drought and opened a brief two-game road swing with a 77-69 setback to Limestone, Saturday afternoon at the Timken Center.
Anderson slipped to 1-3 with its second consecutive setback, while Limestone improved to 3-1 with its third straight win over a South Atlantic Conference opponent.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The Trojans shot a season-high 54.5 percent from the field and outscored Limestone, 42-26, in the paint, but were outrebounded for the second straight game and the Saints converted 17 miscues into 23 points.
Sophomore guard Randall Shaw led four Trojans in double figures with a season-high 23 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field, while junior guard Maurice Howard tallied 12 points, five rebounds and six assists. Freshman guard Chance Prandy added a season-high 11 points, including seven in the second half, along with a pair of blocks in his first career start. Freshman center Carlos Dotson dropped in 11 points, including nine in the first six minutes of the second frame and narrowly missed recording his third double-double of the young season after grabbing nine rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The opening stanza featured three ties and six lead changes, with the Trojans holding the largest lead of the half by either team, at 18-10, midway through the first half.
Three of the lead changes occurred in the opening four minutes, with Shaw draining Anderson's first 3-pointer of the game to give the Trojans a brief 9-8 advantage at the 14:17 mark and sparking a 12-2 scoring surge by the Black and Gold. Following a layup by the Saints' Kane Macoumba at the 13:15 mark, Shaw's second trey in a 78-second span gave AU the lead for the next eight-plus minutes. Prandy followed with a dunk, with Howard adding a jumper and Shaw capped the run with his 10th point of the half to give AU the 18-10 edge.
The Saints countered with six unanswered points to slow the AU outburst and chipped away to knot the score for just the second time, at 27 apiece, with more than four minutes remaining in the half. Junior guard Warren Vinson answered with a layup to ignite a 7-0 run by AU, with Shaw posting a traditional 3-point play 31 seconds later and Prandy adding another slam to give the Trojans a 34-27 edge with 2:26 left before halftime. But Macoumba responded by knocking down a 3-pointer and Limestone senior Shaq Dance closed the half with four straight points to end the half with the score even at 34-34.
Second Half
With the score tied at 43 apiece and less than 16 minutes left in the contest, Dotson posted back-to-back buckets and Shaw nailed his third 3-pointer of the afternoon to boost AU back to a 50-43 lead. After the Saints' Shaun Stewart, who finished with a game-high 31 points, trimmed the Trojans' advantage to just 56-52, Shaw answered with four straight points on the other end and Howard's jumper at the 8:27 mark gave AU a 62-52 edge – its largest of the contest.
The Trojans still led, 64-56, with less than seven minutes on the clock, but committed six costly turnovers and went cold from the field (2-for-7) inside the final six minutes, as Limestone closed the game on a 21-5 run to rally for the win.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
The Trojans shot a season-high 51.7 percent (15-of-29) from the field in the opening half, then posted an even higher 57.7 percent shooting mark in the second half.
NOTABLES
• Randall Shaw has reached the 20+ point plateau in each of the last three games.
• The Trojans have drained at least five 3-pointers in each game.
• Maurice Howard has dished out at least four assists in each game.
• The Trojans have sent out three different starting lineups in four games.
• The Trojans have outscored each of their four opponents in the paint.
UP NEXT
Anderson opens South Atlantic Conference action at Mars Hill on Tuesday searching for its first true road win of the early season. Tip-off versus the Lions in the Tar Heel State is set for 8 p.m.
