ANDERSON, S.C. – Returning home after a three-game road stint, the Anderson University (4-3) men's basketball team gave the home crowd in the Abney Athletic Center something to cheer for as they were able to knock off Saint Augustine's 71-64 in overtime on Monday, December 4.
Senior Garrett Denbow (Ashland, Ohio) led all scorers, posting 18 points in the contest while freshman AJ Wright Jr. (Tampa, Fla.) tallied 14 on the evening. Wright would also lead the team in assists with five while Denbow ranked second on the team with six board behind senior Mack Burgett's (Richmond, Va.) eight rebound performance.
The Trojans wasted no time jumping out to the lead in the contest as they were able to score the first 11 points of the game. After leading 8-0 at the first media timeout, Garrett Denbow knocked down a three that gave them that 11-point advantage before the Falcons were finally able to get on the board at the 14:22 mark in the first. However, by the next media timeout Saint Augustine's had closed the gap to just four points at 17-13.
Anderson continued to work the game offensively, putting up four more points over the next four minutes of action, but the Falcons were working as well as they cut the Trojans lead to just two at the under-eight media, 21-19. The Black and Gold kept pulling away from the Falcons over the remainder of the opening half, but each time they were able to slowly climb back into the contest each time, eventually closing the gap to just three at the halftime break as the Trojans led 31-28.
The two squads traded points back and forth in the opening minutes of the second half, with the margin staying the same at the first media timeout, 38-35. The Falcons offense really started working at that point as they were able to take their first lead of the game at 11:08 with a three-pointer that put them up by one point. They continued to stretch the lead to six before Anderson was able to start closing the gap, bringing it back to as near as three before the final media timeout of regulation. Back-to-back-to-back layups by Garrett Denbow brought the game within reach at 60-59. Sophomore Cole Middleton (Atlanta, Ga.) knocked down a free throw to tie up the contest but missed his second and a last-second heave by Wright fell short sending the game into overtime.
The overtime period was dominated by the Trojans as they returned to similar form of how they opened the contest, scoring the opening 11 points of the deciding frame. Saint Augustine's was only able to record one layup and two free-throws over that same period, giving the Trojans the 71-64 win.
Anderson returns to action in the Abney Athletic Center on Wednesday, December 6 as they welcome in Southern Wesleyan for a 7:00 p.m. tip.
