ANDERSON, S.C. -- Junior Kevis Cornwell dropped in an acrobatic
shot with 36.8 seconds remaining in overtime to give Anderson a
lead it would not relinquish and Anderson went on to hold off
Belmont Abbey, 96-92, in Conference Carolinas men's basketball
action Tuesday night at the Abney Athletic Center. With the Trojans
trailing, 92-91, senior guard Tony Anderson found Cornwell along
the left baseline and the 6-foot-2 guard went airborne and
connected on a twisting, turning shot as he fell to the court. As
soon as the shot fell through, Trojans' head coach Jason Taylor
called an immediate timeout to set up the defense. Anderson's Trey
Britton collected Belmont Abbey forward Chad Patus' miss on the
other end and Anderson raced downcourt for a layup, drew the foul
and drained the ensuing free throw to seal the win. With the win,
Anderson improved to 3-0 to start the season for the first time in
school history and moved to 1-0 in conference play, while the
Crusaders fell to 2-1 and 0-1 in league action. "I'm really proud
of the team for finding a way to win," said Anderson head coach
Jason Taylor. "A lot of guys stepped up and did a great job.
Brandon [Young] showed tremendous leadership and Tony [Anderson]
played within himself tonight. We made plays when we needed to."
Belmont Abbey shot a blistering 61.1 percent in the opening half to
overcome an early Trojan lead and pushed out to a 25-13 advantage
with 11:43 showing on the clock. But after the Crusaders gained the
double-digit advantage, the contest became a game of scoring runs.
The Trojans quickly trimmed the deficit to just five points, but
Belmont Abbey countered with a 14-2 run of their own, edging out to
the largest lead by either team at 39-22 at the 7:12 mark. But
Anderson refused to surrender, mounting a furious comeback with
Tony Anderson and Young each draining a 3-pointer down the stretch
to whittle the deficit to just eight, 49-41, at the half. The game
was tied five times in the second half, with neither team able to
gain more than a five-point lead in the final 15 minutes of the
second half. Anderson edged out to its largest lead of the game,
84-79, with less than two minutes left, but Patus scored five
straight points for the Crusaders to knot the contest, but it was
the shot he was unable to sink that gave AU new life. The 6-foot-7
senior connected on the first of two free throws with 29.5 seconds
on the clock, but misfired on the second. Cornwell grabbed the
rebound and AU held for the final shot, but Tony Anderson's driving
attempt at the buzzer was off the mark, setting up the heroics in
the final moments. Tony Anderson led all scorers with 32 points on
12-of-18 shooting on the night. Trey Britton notched his first
career double-double, adding 16 points and collecting 10 rebounds.
Junior Brandon Young netted 15 points, while Nick Trull chipped in
12 points. The Trojans get back into action on Wednesday, Dec. 2,
in the third game of a season-high five-game homestand when they
welcome South Atlantic Conference opponent Mars Hill to the Abney
Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Game
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