Box Score
Box score
SALISBURY, N.C. - With four players reaching double figures, the
Anderson men's basketball team opened the New Year by rolling past
Catawba, 78-55, Saturday afternoon at Goodman Gymnasium.
Anderson (9-3, 4-2 SAC) won its second straight contest and
improved to 5-1 on the road this season with its third straight
road win. The Trojans have won eight straight past Catawba (2-8,
2-4 SAC), which dropped its second consecutive decision and has
lost four of its last five.
The Trojans were out-rebounded 36-35, with Catawba recording 20
offensive boards. AU shot 51 percent (26-of-51) from the field and
connected on 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) from beyond the arc, which
equaled its season-high in treys. The long-range accuracy ranks
sixth in NCAA Division II this season and marked the highest
3-point accuracy since the Trojans connected on 11-of-16 (68.8
percent) versus the Indians last February.
Senior guard CJ Gleaton, who has reached double figures in three
of the last four games, led all scorers with 16 points, including
nine in the second half. The 6-foot-3 guard also recorded a
season-high four steals. Senior guard Chandler Hash added 15
points, while junior guard Myson Jones nearly garnered his first
double-double of the season by tallying 12 points and a career-high
eight assists. Redshirt junior Chris Ross chipped in 10 points and
five rebounds, with forward Kyle Sledge pulling down a team-best
seven rebounds.
Catawba forward Tyrece Little led three Indians in double
figures with 15 points, while forward Kijuan Arrington recorded a
game-high eight rebounds.
"We had not shot the ball that well all season," said Anderson
head coach Jason Taylor. "The biggest difference in the halves was
that we took care of the ball in the second half. I do not feel
good about our rebounding. We need to get sharper and we will. Tony
[Dargan] gave a boost off the bench and Alani [Adekambi] played
well."
With both teams coming off a 13-day layoff, the two squads
combined for just two baskets through the first 3:33 of action,
with the Trojans using a 6-0 outburst to take the largest lead of
the half, at 8-2, with 15:33 left in the opening frame.
But Catawba chipped away at the AU lead with an 11-2 run,
eventually knotting the score at 10 apiece on sophomore Julian
Sampah's layup at the 10:36 mark and took its first lead,13-10,
less than two minutes later on sophomore guard Elon Edwards' first
3-pointer of the contest.
AU countered with a 7-2 surge to regain a 17-15 edge, as Gleaton
sparked the rally with five consecutive points and Ross capped it
with a basket in the paint. The two-point edge proved to be a lead
the Trojans would not relinquish, as AU carried a 27-24 edge into
halftime.
The Trojans opened the second stanza by scoring the first four
points to build a 31-24 lead less than two minutes into the half
and capitalized on back-to-back 3-pointers from Jones and Gleaton
to push out to a 42-33 advantage. Anderson pushed out to its first
double-digit lead, 44-33 lead on a layup by Gleaton with 13:24
remaining in the game.
Leading by seven two minutes later, Anderson erupted on a 16-3
run over a three-minute span to take a 20-point lead with just more
than eight minutes on the clock. The Trojans were a perfect 4-of-4
from beyond the arc during the outburst, with Hash and freshman
Tony Dargan each draining a pair of treys.
The Indians countered with six straight points to trim AU's lead
to 60-46, but Catawba would get no closer over the final five
minutes.
The Trojans return to the friendly confines of the Abney
Athletic Center to open a two-game SAC homestand on Wednesday, as
they square off against 18th-ranked Lincoln Memorial for the second
time this season. Tip-off versus the Railsplitters is slated for 8
p.m.