ANDERSON, S.C. – Freshman guard Crosby James came off the bench to lead three Trojans in double figures by netting a career-high 24 points, but league-leading and nationally third-ranked Lincoln Memorial defeated Anderson, 90-68, in South Atlantic conference men's basketball action, Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
"I am proud of how hard our guys competed tonight," said Anderson head coach Jeff Brookman. "They fought for 40 minutes, but unfortunately we came up short. We will regroup over the next few days and get ready for the next game on Wednesday."
Anderson slipped to 9-7 overall and 4-6 in the conference, while Lincoln Memorial (17-1, 10-0 SAC) won its 17th straight contest after dropping its season opener to No. 7 West Texas A&M.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
James shared game-high scoring honors with his career night, while connecting on 9-of-16 from the field. Junior guard Alex Keel equaled his season-high with 13 points and led the Trojans with a season-high nine rebounds. Junior guard Quin Nottingham netted 11 points, with sophomore forward Satchel Hester adding eight points and five boards. Senior guard Shawn Benard tallied five points, six rebounds and a game-high four assists.
Lincoln Memorial junior guard Devin Whitfield posted a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while junior forward Rhondi Hackett chipped in 20 points. Senior guard Anthony Brown scored 12 for the Railsplitters.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Behind a pair of 3-pointers to open the contest – first from Benard and then from Keel – the Trojans jumped ahead, 6-3, inside the first minute, but LMU used an 9-4 spurt to claim a lead it wouldn't relinquish the rest of the afternoon. A jumper by Nottingham trimmed the Railsplitters' advantage to just 15-12 with more than 13 minutes on the clock, but LMU countered with a decisive 20-6 run over the next 10 minutes to stake a 35-18 lead at the 3:16 mark.
With James providing the firepower, the Trojans answered by closing the half with nine unanswered points and went to the break trailing by single digits, at 38-29.
Second Half
The Trojans came out of intermission cold – misfiring on their first four field goal attempts and committing a pair of turnovers in the frame's first three minutes. On the other end of the court, the Railsplitters capitalized on four quick free throws to fuel a 9-0 surge and the visitors pushed out to an 18-point lead with 16:46 on the clock.
After falling behind, 60-38, the Black and Gold posted a 13-6 surge – fueled in part by a technical foul on LMU's Cameron Henry – to climb back within 66-51 midway through the half. But it was as close as AU would get, as the Railsplitters held the margin the rest of the way.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE GAME
The Trojans regained their shooting eye from the free throw line by connecting on 15-of-17 attempts (88.2%), including 9-of-10 in the second half.
NOTABLES
• AU was facing its third Top-25 team of the season and was seeking its second win over a nationally-ranked squad. The Trojans dropped a 78-74 decision at sixth-ranked Queens in November and claimed a 74-64 home win over No. 20 Belmont Abbey in mid-December.
• Lincoln Memorial holds a 16-7 advantage in the overall series
• The last AU victory in the series came in the 2013-14 season's first matchup in Harrogate, Tenn., when the Trojans rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit to knock off the Railsplitters,
• LMU won the battle of the boards, 46-34.
• The Trojans have pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in each of the last three games.
UP NEXT
Anderson will wrap up the first half of its double round-robin South Atlantic Conference schedule by going on the road to face Catawba, Wednesday night. Tip-off versus the Indians in Salisbury, N.C., is slated for 7:30 p.m.
