BANNER ELK, N.C. -- Anderson's combination of Taylor Shugart and
Nick Trull combined for 33 points, including 26 in the first half,
as the Anderson men's basketball team resumed its winning ways by
going on the road to knock off Lees-McRae, 85-53, in Conference
Carolinas action Monday night at Williams Gymnasium. Anderson (8-1,
2-1 Conference Carolinas) showed no ills effects of a 17-day layoff
as the Trojans handed the Bobcats their second loss in three
contests and stretched their own win streak to four games.
Lees-McRae fell to 1-8 overall and 0-3 in league action, while
playing just their second home contest of the season and first
since defeating Montreat, 81-66, back on Dec. 12. The Trojans'
defense held the homestanding Bobcats scoreless for nearly four
minutes to open the contest, as Lees-McRae came up empty on its
first five possessions while AU jumped out to an early 7-1 lead.
Trull's first of four 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes gave
Anderson a 12-3 cushion at the 12:19 mark of the opening half, but
the Bobcats trimmed the AU lead to 16-12 four minutes later on a
bucket by junior Jeremy Helms. But it was as close as the Bobcats
would get as Trull, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, answered by exploding for
three consecutive treys and Kevis Cornwell capped the 11-0 run to
give AU a 27-12 margin with just under six minutes left before
halftime. The lead grew to as much as 36 with 7:57 remaining in the
game after Oskars Ernsteins converted his fourth 3-pointer of the
game. Anderson held a 38-32 edge on the glass, while the Trojans'
bench outscored Lees-McRae's reserves, 48-24. Anderson also forced
17 turnovers and scored 11 points off those turnovers. Shugart led
the way for AU with 19 points and shared game-high rebounding
honors with teammate Trey Britton, as each collected six boards.
Trull and Oskars Ernsteins each tallied 14 points, while Brandon
Young handed out a game-high seven assists and committed no
turnovers. Junior Stephen Cobb returned to action after missing
five games with an injury, scoring nine points in 10 minutes on the
hardwood. "This is always a tough trip to make," said Anderson head
coach Jason Taylor. "So it's good to get the win. Brandon [Young]
had a great game and Nick [Trull] really got us going off the
bench. Taylor has been doing what he does best - catch and finish."
The Trojans travel to Mount Olive on Saturday in another Conference
Carolinas matchup in the fourth game of their season-high five-game
road swing. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Kornegay Arena. Game
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