ANDERSON, S.C. – With four players reaching double figures in the scoring column, Anderson overwhelmed Coker, 83-61, in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball mid-week action, Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
"It was total team win tonight," said Anderson head coach Jeff Brookman. "We got contributions from several guys tonight on the floor and we had great bench energy. The guys were locked in on the defensive end for a majority of the game."
Anderson (9-6, 4-5 SAC) won its second straight outing and claimed its fifth victory in seven outings, while Coker (3-10, 2-7 SAC) suffered its eighth loss in nine decisions, while coming off a win over Tusculum last Saturday.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Senior guard Shawn Benard led all scorers with 21 points and shared game-high honors by dishing out four assists. Junior guard Quin Nottingham nearly recorded his second double-double of the season by adding 15 points and pulling down eight rebounds, while recording a season-high four steals. Junior guard Alex Keel netted a season-high 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and equaled his season-high with three steals.
Junior forward Josh Livingston notched 10 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots in just his second game back after recovering from an injury. Freshman guard Mason Carver grabbed seven rebounds.
Sophomore guard Chandler Lindsey came off the bench to lead Coker with 18 points, while sophomore forward Dakota Jennings added 12 points. The Cobras' leading scorer, junior guard Royce Hunter, who is sixth in the league in scoring, also posted 12 points and dished out four assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The 36th meeting between the two programs saw Keel record a traditional three-point play just a little more than two minutes into the contest that gave the Trojans the lead for good, at 5-2.
With the Trojans holding a one-point lead less than two minutes later, Benard sparked a 13-4 run by dropping in a pair of free throws. The senior from Mobile, Ala., then finished off the outburst with a driving left-handed layup that resulted in the Black and Gold holding a double-digit, 18-8, advantage at the 11:45 mark.
Coker responded by chipping away the Trojans' lead and trimming the deficit to just 22-17, but AU countered by rebuilding its cushion to 41-27 with just 1:52 remaining in the half and held a 12-point lead at the break.
Second Half
Sophomore center Jason Edwards helped fuel an early surge by the Trojans that saw their advantage grow to 17 points with more than 16 minutes on the clock, but just when it looked like a romp, the Cobras came roaring back by scoring 11 unanswered points and slashed AU's lead to just 50-44.
Benard snapped AU's four-minute dry spell with yet another driving layup and following a close basket by Coker's Lindsey, Keel ignited another run by nailing a 3-pointer from deep in the right corner and the Trojans outscored Coker 12-3 over the next four-plus minutes to claim a 67-49 advantage with 5:36 remaining and built a 28-point lead late in the contest.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
AU outscored the Cobras, 20-3, in points off turnovers.
NOTABLES
• AU improved to 5-1 at home this season.
• The Trojans outrebounded Coker, 38-29, for their second-largest rebounding margin of the season.
• Led by Quin Nottingham's season-high four steals, the Trojans swiped a season-high 10 steals as a team.
• The Trojans have handed out double-digit assists in eight consecutive games.
• AU holds a 20-16 advantage in the all-time series, including a 14-7 record versus the Cobras at the Abney Center.
• The Trojans have won 11 of the last 16 matchups with the Cobras.
UP NEXT
Anderson wraps up its two-game homestand when the Trojans play host to league-leading and third-ranked Lincoln Memorial on Saturday. Tip-off versus the Railsplitters at the Abney Center is set for 4 p.m.
