ANDERSON, S.C. – Anderson University (6-6, 1-2 SAC) dropped its second straight home contest playing against its second straight top-25 team, falling to South Atlantic Conference opponent No. 7 Lenoir-Rhyne (12-0, 4-0 SAC), 78-70, on Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
"Until we stop fouling, we are not going to close out games," said head coach Jonathon Barbaree.
Facing the Bears head-on and giving them all they could handle, ultimately Lenoir-Rhyne's ability to draw 31 trips to the foul line and sinking 25 free throws to Anderson's 7-of-13 proved to be the difference in the contest.
The game featured seven lead changes and was tied on four occasions with the Bears holding its largest lead at 12 points in the third quarter of action. Anderson owned the boards, outrebounding LR 50-29.
Lenoir-Rhyne hit a three-point basket in the waning seconds of the first quarter to outscore the Trojans, 26-25, after the first 10 minutes of action. Both teams cooled off in the second quarter of play with the Bears netting 15 points and AU dropping in 11 for LR to claim the, 41-37, halftime lead.
Lenoir-Rhyne pushed its lead to 12 points with 5:33 remaining, but AU senior Jalyn Sprulin scored six straight points to cut the lead in half with 3:56 to play in the third frame, 55-49. The Bears were able to regain a double-digit lead and maintain it for most of the final time of the quarter. Senior Britney Bailey cut it to eight, making the final shot of the period,63-55.
Anderson cut the lead to three points after a made three-point basket by senior Xan Rowland from the corner, but the Bears answered with a three-pointer and two quick buckets to push their lead back to 10 with 6:34 to play in the game.
Rowland drained another three-pointer from the corner to pull the Trojans to within four points with 4:11 remaining. However, AU could not get any closer, getting stuck on 68 total points and the Bears went on a small 4-0 run to go ahead, 76-68. Sophomore Diamond McDowell stole the ball and scored AU's final two points of the game with 18 seconds, while the Bears stepped up and made their final two foul shots to close the deal, 78-70.
Anderson's Spurlin scored a game-high and her season-high 22 points in just 22 minutes of action. Bailey netted 13 points and ripped down 13 rebounds to record her second double-double of the season. Senior Nelliah Wilson and McDowell hauled in nine and seven rebounds, respectively.
Just six different players scored for LR with five scoring in double-figures. Emily Harman scored a team-high 19 points, while Jalen Gathers dropped in 15. Hannah Stull and Azariah Field chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Anderson will play its final home game of its four-game home swing when it hosts nonconference opponent on Monday. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 pm inside the Abney Athletic Center.
