YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – Crosby James II equaled his career high with 27 points and the Anderson men's basketball team used late heroics to claim its second straight road victory by knocking off Young Harris, 75-73, in nonconference action, Saturday afternoon at the YHC Recreation and Fitness Center.
Anderson improved to 7-5 on the season with its fourth straight victory and third win over a Peach Belt Conference-opponent this season, while Young Harris fell to 3-7 on the season with its second straight setback after earlier posting a three-game win streak.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
James was 9-for-15 from the field on the afternoon and connected on his first five 3-point attempts. The junior from Columbia pulled down six rebounds and handed out two assists. Forward Jalen Hillery added 10 points on 4-of-6 accuracy from the field, with forward Josh Livingston nearly recording his second double-double of the season with eight points and nine rebounds. He also dished out three assists.
Freshman guard Myles Jenkins netted nine points, while Mack Burgett was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and finished with eight points and six boards. Guard Quin Nottingham dished out a career-high 10 assists for the second time in three games, while adding seven points and equaling a career high with four steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The Trojans offset Young Harris' 5-of-9 shooting from long range with 5-of-12 accuracy of their own from beyond the arc in the opening half with the first 20 minutes featuring four ties and 11 lead changes.
Neither team was able to gain more than a seven-point lead in the first half, with the Mountain Lions taking their largest lead of the contest (10-6) with more than 17 minutes left in the first half.
James' third 3-pointer of the first half gave the Trojans a 29-26 advantage at the 7:30 mark and AU held a 44-38 edge at halftime.
Second Half
After YHC's Sam Conley opened the second half with a traditional three-point play, James answered with back-to-back 3s to give the Trojans their largest advantage of the game, at 50-41, with nearly 18 minutes left in the game.
AU held on to the lead, but a scoring drought of almost six minutes that began with 7:28 on the clock nearly proved fatal to the Trojans' chances. YHC guard Anterrious Rhyan sank two free throws with 3:12 remaining to give the Mountain Lions their first lead (71-70) since the 8:06 mark of the first half and Rhyan converted an AU turnover into a layup on the other end to boost the Mountain Lions' advantage to 73-70 less than two minutes later.
Jenkins and Dotrch then countered with back-to-back baskets for the Trojans and they led, 74-73, with less than a minute left. Young Harris misfired on a pair of free throws with just 26 seconds left and was unable to regain the lead in the final moments. Livingston knocked down 1-of-2 from the charity stripe after getting fouled while grabbing the second miss to give AU a 75-73 lead.
Dortch followed by swiping a steal on the other end, but was unable to connect on a free throw after drawing a foul and the Mountain Lions still had life, but they missed a long-range jumper at the horn.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
Crosby James II connected on his first five 3-point attempts.
NOTABLES
• The Trojans improved to 3-0 against Peach Belt Conference opponents this season.
• AU is riding its longest win streak of the season.
• The Trojans improved to 2-1 all-time at Young Harris.
• The Trojans captured their second straight road win.
• Young Harris owns a 3-2 advantage in the overall series.
• AU's margin of win/loss in five of its last six games has been by an average of just 2.6 points.
• Young Harris edged the Trojans, 40-39, on the boards.
• AU equaled a season high with 12 offensive boards.
• The Trojans recorded a season-high 20 assists.
• The Trojans have connected on at least four 3-pointers in every game.
• The Trojans have recorded at least eight assists in nine straight games - and have reached double-digit assists in five straight games.
• The Trojans have swiped at least six steals in five straight games and swiped at least four steals in nine straight games.
• The Limestone game is only first of the season in which the Trojans did not block a shot.
• Parker Dortch has recorded at least four rebounds in each game this season.
• Crosby James has made at least three 3-pointers in three straight games.
• Quin Nottingham has handed out at least five assists in four straight games.
UP NEXT
Following a 12-day layoff over Christmas Break, the Trojans close out their three-game road swing, the calendar year and their nonconference schedule by celebrating New Year's Eve at Georgia College, Friday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. The matchup will mark just the eighth meeting between the Trojans and Bobcats and the first since the 2015-16 campaign.
