Harrogate, Tenn. – Lincoln Memorial, which shot a red-hot 70 percent from the field in the first half, defeated Anderson, 95-72, in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action, Wednesday night at Tex Turner Arena.
Anderson (12-10, 6-8 SAC) suffered its second straight setback and has dropped three of its last four decisions, while Lincoln Memorial (15-6, 10-4 SAC) snapped a brief two-game skid with the victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Senior guard Randall Shaw led four Trojans in double figures with 16 points, with junior guard Shawn Benard adding 12 points and four assists. Senior guards Gage Ellis and Andrew Boynton each chipped in 10 points apiece, with Boynton pulling down a team-high eight rebounds and dishing out a career-high seven assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Lincoln Memorial blistered the nets by connecting on 23-of-33 field goal attempts (69.7 percent), including 8-of-12 from beyond the arc, in the opening half, as the Railsplitters used a 20-4 run over a five-minute span to build an insurmountable lead.
AU struggled offensively on the other end of the court, as the Trojans were just 6-of-25 (24 percent) from the field midway through the half. The Railsplitters pushed out to a 32-14 advantage with 9:47 remaining in the first half and held a 61-30 lead at the break.
Second Half
Behind six points from Shaw, the Trojans opened the second frame with a 10-3 surge to cut LMU's cushion to 64-40 and closed the gap to 23 on a pair of occasions before getting within 73-52 on a turnaround jumper by Jeremy Bouton with 10:18 left in the game.
But the 21-point deficit was as close as AU would get in the second half.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE GAME
After shooting 27.8 percent (10-of-36) from the field in the first half, the Trojans connected on 14-of-30 (46.7%) in the final 20 minutes.
NOTABLES
• LMU won the rebounding battle, 48-31.
• The Trojans handed out 15 assists and have dished out double-figure assists in 11 of their last 12 games.
• The 61 first-half points by Lincoln Memorial were the most by an opponent this season.
• The Trojans had five players foul out of the first Lincoln Memorial contest – the most in a game this season – with a combined 67 fouls whistled in the December matchup. Tonight's contest saw 37 fouls called.
• Jeremy Bouton needs 31 points to become the 14th player in program history to score at least 1,000 career points.
• The Trojans have connected on at least five 3-pointers in eight consecutive games, including seven in four of the last five games.
UP NEXT
The Trojans wrap up their two-game road swing by visiting Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday. AU will be looking to earn a sweep of the regular-season series after edging the Bears, 74-69, at the Abney Athletic Center in mid-December. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
