CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Sophomore forward Jeremy Bouton poured in a career-high 25 points, but the No. 7-seeded Anderson men's basketball team fell, 79-61, to second-seeded and nationally seventh-ranked Queens in the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, Wednesday night at Curry Arena.
Anderson, which was making its first postseason appearance in three seasons, saw its campaign end with a 13-16 overall record – nearly doubling its win total from last season. Queens improved to 26-3 and advanced to the semifinals of the SAC Tournament and will be looking for its first win of the season against third-seeded Wingate in Greenville, S.C.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Bouton posted the career-best effort on the strength of 9-of-15 shooting from the field, while equaling a season-high with four 3-pointers. Freshman center Carlos Dotson added 14 points and a team-high five rebounds, with sophomore guard Shawn Benard chipping in eight points. Junior guard Maurice Howard shared game-high honors with six assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Dotson dropped in a layup for the game's first basket, but it proved to be the Trojans' only lead of the contest, as Queens countered with an 11-3 run over the next four minutes to claim an 11-5 advantage.
Dotson posted an old-fashioned three-point play to get AU within three, but the Trojans suffered a scoring drought of more than three minutes as the Royals used a 12-5 surge to build a double-digit advantage with 12:01 left in the first half. But Bouton scored AU's next seven points and Benard added a trey, as the Black and Gold trimmed the deficit to 28-23 with more than six minutes on the clock.
However, the Royals posted 10 unanswered points to capture a 15-point cushion at the 3:27 mark, and held a 40-30 halftime edge.
Second Half
AU connected on four 3-pointers in the opening three minutes of the second half to pull within 51-44, but it was as close as the Trojans would get, as Queens answered with a 12-2 run to push back out to a 63-46 lead and held a double-digit lead through the remainder of the contest.
