NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – Less than 24 hours after outrunning South Atlantic Conference-foe Newberry, the Anderson men's basketball team dropped a 59-45 decision to NCAA Division I opponent College of Charleston in exhibition action Sunday afternoon at the North Charleston Coliseum.
The game was an exhibition on the Trojans' schedule, but was a regular-season contest for the Cougars, who improved to 7-3 on the year with their fourth straight victory.
In just the second meeting in program history between the two programs and the first since the Trojans stunned the Cougars, 65-49, in an exhibition at TD Arena during the 2012-13 season, both teams struggled to shoot the ball well.
The Cougars held a narrow, 39-37, rebounding advantage and converted 14 Trojan turnovers into 18 points.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Sophomore guard Randall Shaw scored a game-high 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting, with fellow sophomore Andrew Boynton adding nine second-half points and grabbing four rebounds. Junior guard Maurice Howard shared game-high honors with four assists and freshman Chance Prandy pulled down a team-high five rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The first half proved to be a low-scoring affair, as both teams struggled to find their shooting eye. Midway through the frame the squads were each shooting just 34 percent from the field, with AU connecting on 5-of-16 from the floor and the Cougars were 7-of-19, while making their first appearance at the North Charleston Coliseum since 2010.
The Cougars jumped out to a 9-2 lead at the 16:09 mark, but with freshman Carlos Dotson Shaw combining for the Trojans' first 11 points points, AU stayed within striking distance.
Sophomore guard Shawn Benard's lone basket of the game pulled the Black and Gold within 16-13 with more than eight minutes left in the opening half and after the College of Charleston pushed back out to a seven-point edge, guard Lex Davis fueled a 6-0 run with four consecutive free throws and freshman Lester Rochez capped the surge with a layup to get AU within 20-19 at the 3:31 mark.
Following a pair of free throws from the Cougars' Evan Bailey, Prandy answered with a jumper and Davis' sixth point of the opening 20 minutes gave the Trojans their only lead of the afternoon, 23-22. But the Cougars countered by scoring the final five points of the half, including a 3-pointer inside the final five seconds, to claim a 27-23 halftime advantage.
Second Half
CofC freshman guard Grant Riller scored the Cougars' first seven points of the second stanza as they opened the half with a 16-7 run and built a 43-30 lead with less than 13 minutes on the clock.
UP NEXT
Anderson re-enters South Atlantic Conference action at Coker on Wednesday, before closing out the calendar year with a two-game homestand.
