ANDERSON, S.C. – With four players reaching double figures in the scoring column, the Anderson men's basketball team opened the second half of its double round-robin South Atlantic Conference schedule with a 75-65 win over Lenoir-Rhyne, Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
With its fourth home win of the season, Anderson improved to 7-12 overall and 5-6 in the conference, while earning a split of the season series and claimed its second win in three meetings with the Bears.
Lenoir-Rhyne slipped to 7-10 overall and 5-6 in the league with its second straight setback.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Junior forward Jeremy Bouton led the Trojans with 15 points, including 13 in the second half, and recorded a team-high six rebounds. Junior guard Andrew Boynton came off the bench to score 13 points, while freshman Josh Livingston netted a dozen points. Senior guard Maurice Howard tallied 12 points, four rebounds and a game-high seven assists. Junior Randall Shaw handed out a career-high five assists and equaled a career high with three steals.
FIRST HALF
Lenoir-Rhyne scored the opening basket of the game and the two teams traded buckets through the opening 10:19 of the contest, as each time the Trojans answered with a score, Lenoir-Rhyne would counter with another basket on its end of the court.
The Bears snapped the seventh deadlock of the first half by jumping out to their largest lead of the game, 17-14, on a 3-pointer from the left corner by senior guard Billy Bales at the 9:41 mark and held the advantage until the Trojans scored 10 unanswered points to turn a 21-18 deficit into a 28-21 lead. Freshman guard Myliek Durham canned his lone 3-pointer of the afternoon from the right wing to give the Trojans their first lead of the contest after Boynton's jumper had ignited the rally.
Lenoir-Rhyne responded with four quick points, but Livingston connected on his only trey of the game with less than a minute left in the half and AU went to intermission holding a 31-25 lead.
SECOND HALF
AU stretched its lead to double digits (40-29) on a traditional three-point play by senior Rakish Taylor less than three minutes into the second half.
Later leading, 42-35, the Trojans capitalized on a flurry of 3-pointers to build their largest advantage of the contest, at 50-35, with 11:08 remaining in the game. AU maintained the double-digit cushion until the Bears pulled within seven on two occasions inside the final four minutes, but the Trojans withstood each challenge and connected on 4-of-6 free throws inside the final 71 seconds to seal the victory.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
The Trojans equaled a season-low with just six turnovers on the afternoon, which resulted in just two L-R points.
NOTES
• The Trojans outrebounded Lenoir-Rhyne, 33-31.
• AU converted nine Lenoir-Rhyne turnovers into 11 points.
• The score was tied seven times – all in the opening half.
• The contest featured just one lead change.
• After being outrebounded in eight consecutive games, the Trojans outrebounded Mars Hill, Coker and now Lenoir-Rhyne.
• After holding Tusculum to a season-low 23 first-half points, the Trojan defense limited Lenoir-Rhyne to 25 points in the first half.
UP NEXT
The Trojans have a six-day layoff before traveling to fourth-ranked Queens to open a two-game South Atlantic Conference road swing. AU will be looking to avenge a 90-79 loss to the Royals earlier in the season. Tip-off versus the Royals is set for 4 p.m. in Charlotte, N.C.
May 2, 2018
Johnson Named Full-time Assistant Coach
March 13, 2018
Men's Basketball in the Community
March 1, 2018
Ellis Captures Honorable Mention All-SAC Honors
February 28, 2018
Trojans Fall to No. 1 Lincoln Memorial
February 24, 2018
Trojans Fall to Coker on Senior Day
February 21, 2018
Balanced Attack Propels Trojans to Big Win over Tusculum
February 17, 2018
Trojans Capture Crucial SAC Win at Wingate
February 14, 2018
Trojans Hold on for Road Win at Mars Hill
February 10, 2018
Newberry Edges Trojans in Foul-Plagued Contest
February 7, 2018
Trojans Fall to Top-Ranked Lincoln Memorial
February 3, 2018
Turnovers Prove Costly in Trojans’ Home Loss to Catawba
January 31, 2018
Trojans Fall at Carson-Newman
January 29, 2018
Saturday Designated as Corporate Sponsor Appreciation Day
January 27, 2018
Big Second Half Propels No. 3 Queens Past Trojans
January 18, 2018
Trojans Capture Hard-Earned Road Win at Tusculum
January 17, 2018
Basketball Doubleheader at Tusculum Moved to Thursday
January 13, 2018
Trojans Unable to Overcome Sluggish Start in Loss at Coker
January 10, 2018
Balanced Attack Lifts Trojans Past Mars Hill
January 6, 2018
Trojans Stumble at Home to Wingate
January 3, 2018
Trojans Fall to Sixth-Ranked Lincoln Memorial
December 30, 2017
Late Surge Carries Lees-McRae Past Trojans
December 16, 2017
Junior Trio Leads Trojans Past Catawba
December 14, 2017
Boynton’s Four-Point Play Propels Trojans Past Newberry
December 9, 2017
Nationally-Ranked Royals Defeat Trojans
December 6, 2017
Trojans Fall to Carson-Newman
December 2, 2017
Hot-Shooting Bears Prove to Be Too Much for Trojans
November 30, 2017
Big Second Half Propels Trojans Past Southern Wesleyan
November 28, 2017
Turnovers Prove Costly as Johnson C. Smith Holds off Trojans
November 21, 2017
Second-Half Rallies Fall Short as USC Aiken Outlasts Trojans
November 18, 2017
Flying Fleet Escapes with Three-Point Win over Trojans
November 15, 2017
Late Rally Not Enough as Limestone Outlasts Trojans
November 11, 2017
Trojans Outrun Southern Wesleyan in Season Opener
November 11, 2017
Men’s Basketball Stumbles at Home to Lander
November 9, 2017
Men’s Basketball Season Outlook
July 25, 2017
Men’s Basketball Releases 2017-18 Schedule