ANDERSON, S.C. – In an intense, electric atmosphere at the Abney Athletic Center, the Anderson men's basketball team opened the season by overcoming first-half foul trouble and shocking nationally second-ranked Flagler, 80-77, in the Conference Crossover hosted by the Trojans, Friday afternoon.
"What a way to start the season," said Anderson head coach Jeff Brookman. "I am so proud of the guys and our team. This game was a complete team effort from top to bottom. Everyone was locked in from the beginning and to go toe-to-toe with a really good team like Flagler was fun to see. The unfortunate part is we don't get to enjoy it long as we have to get ready for another tough Peach Belt opponent in Lander. Time to move on to the next. Thanks to all the fans and support at the game. It was incredible."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
The Trojans used 18 points apiece from senior guard Quin Nottingham and transfer forward Parker Dortch, who was making his debut in the Black and Gold. Nottingham struggled from the field (3-for-14), but was a stellar 9-for-10 at the charity stripe and shared game-high honors with six assists. Dortch was 8-of-11 from the field (72.7%) and grabbed five rebounds.
Senior forward Jalen Hillery posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while also dishing out four assists. Junior guard Mason Carver netted a career-high 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. He also handed out a pair of assists. True freshman Myles Jenkins tallied eight points and four boards in 14 minutes off the bench, while forward Josh Livingston added seven points, five rebounds and three blocked shots.
Flagler's Jaizec Lottie, last year's PBC Player of the Year, led all players with 25 points, while teammates Curtis Lewis and Jalen Barr tallied 16 points and 10 points, respectively. Barr notched a double-double with a team-high 10 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
With Dortch book-ending a pair of baskets around a layup from Livingston and 3-pointers from both Carver and Nottingham, the Trojans took a 12-5 lead into the first media timeout with just less than 16 minutes left in the opening half.
Lottie added one of two from the charity stripe to pull the Saints within six, but Nottingham answered with his second trey inside the opening eight minutes and Dortch electrified the crowd with a traditional three-point play less than a minute later, as the Trojans claimed their largest lead of the contest, at 18-6, with less than 12 minutes left in the opening half.
With each team trading baskets over the next two-plus minutes, AU still led by double-digits (23-13) at the 9:34 mark, but hit a scoring drought for nearly two minutes that enabled Flagler to score seven consecutive points and climb within a single possession, at 23-20.
Jenkins slowed the Saints with a layup, but Lewis dropped in a layup that gave Flagler its first lead of the contest (27-25) with 5:45 left in the opening half. Nottingham dropped in a pair of free throws to deadlock the score for the first of three more times over the next three minutes, with a long 3-pointer from senior forward Satchel Hester giving AU a brief 37-36 edge at the 1:31 mark.
Barr countered with a triple on the other end for the visitors, with Dortch's second free throw of the day setting the halftime score at 39-38.
Second Half
Flagler took its largest lead of the contest (46-39) at the 18:24 mark, but the Trojans refused to fold, as Hillery dropped in a layup then swiped a steal and found Nottingham, who connected on another 3-pointer to get AU within 46-44, and a layup by Dortch deadlocked the score at 46-46 with more than 16 minutes left in the contest.
Each time one team took a brief lead and threatened to pull away, the other squad answered and the contest was tied seven more times over the next 14 minutes, until Dortch corralled a missed trey by Livingston and stuck back the miss to give AU the lead for good (74-72) with 2:31 remaining.
Livingston netted 1-of-2 from the line 42 seconds later and following three straight misses on the other end by the Saints, Carver's layup gave AU some breathing room, at 77-72, with 34 seconds on the clock. Flagler's Callum Baker countered with a layup to get the Saints within one possession, but Nottingham drew a foul with 19 seconds on the clock and calmly sank two free throws to boost the Trojan lead back to 79-74.
Following a turnover by the Saints, they were forced to foul and sent Carver to the line, where the Lexington native nailed 1-of-2 to give AU an 80-74 lead. Lewis then connected on a trey for Flagler with less than five seconds left, and the Trojans ran out the clock to set off the celebration on Annie Tribble Court.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
The Trojans won the rebounding battle, 44-43.
NOTABLES
• The Trojans earned their ninth home win over a Top-25 team since the 2008-09 season.
• No. 2 Flagler was the highest-ranked team to fall at Abney since the Trojans knocked off top-ranked Lincoln Memorial, 78-72, during the 2011-12 season.
• With the exception of the 2020-21 COVID-19 spring campaign, Anderson is making its eighth consecutive appearance and 10th overall appearance in a Conference Challenge.
• Flagler is the defending Peach Belt Conference regular and postseason champions, as well as South Region champions.
• AU owns a 2-1 advantage in the brief overall series with the Saints.
• The Trojans improved to 12-11 over 23 years in season-openers.
• AU improved to 10-9 in Conference Challenge games.
• The Trojans outscored Flagler, 34-32, in the paint.
• The score was tied 14 times and there were 10 lead changes.
UP NEXT
Anderson will get back on the court quickly, as the Trojans are slated to square off against Lander, Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Abney Center.
