Box Score
Box score
ANDERSON, S.C. - Anderson senior guard Myson Jones equaled
his career-high with 22 points, but the Anderson University men's
basketball team opened its home slate with a narrow, 71-68, setback
to visiting Lenoir-Rhyne in South Atlantic Conference action
Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
Anderson slipped to 1-3 overall and 0-1 on the young season,
while Lenoir-Rhyne (1-3, 1-1 SAC) claimed its first win at the
Abney Center in five visits.
Jones was 5-of-12 from the field and a perfect 9-of-9 from the
free throw line on the afternoon, while dishing out a pair of
assists. Senior guard Alani Adekambi added 12 points, while guard
Nick Jackson tallied 11 points and five rebounds. Redshirt freshman
forward Matt McClain came off the bench to post seven points and
seven rebounds in 18 minutes of action.
Lenoir-Rhyne junior Will Perry led all scorers with 37 points on
9-of-15 shooting from the field, including 5-of-8 from beyond the
arc. The 5-foot-11 guard was a perfect 14-of-14 from the line. Reed
Lucas added 11 points, with Justice Morgan chipping in 10 points
for the Bears.
The game was tied seven times and the lead changed hands on
eight occasions - all in the opening half.
The Bears opened the contest by going 3-of-5 from the field,
including a pair of 3-pointers, while L-R's Jake Wilson capped the
opening outburst with a layup to give Lenoir-Rhyne an 8-0 lead
three minutes into the game.
Steven Faust got the Trojans on the scoreboard with one-of-two
from the line, while AU outscored the Bears 12-3 over the next four
minutes to take its first lead, at 13-11, with 13 minutes left in
the opening half. After Adekambi and Perry traded 3-pointers, Jones
and Jackson buried long-distance treys, with Adekambi adding his
second 3-pointer in less than three minutes to polish off the
surge.
Perry countered with a pair of free throws to knot the score for
the first time in the contest with 12:28 left in the frame, then
both teams suffered a scoring drought of more than three minutes.
Perry connected on two from the line to break the deadlock, with
the teams exchanging the lead three times over the next 2:58.
A 3-pointer by Jones with just more than six minutes on the
clock gave the Trojans their largest lead of the game, at 23-20,
but the Bears quickly evened the score again. L-R's Rob Noyes
dropped in a jumper to give the visitors a narrow lead, which they
held until just more than a minute was left in the opening half.
With AU trailing by two, Jackson dropped in a layup while drawing a
foul and connected on the free throw for a traditional three-point
play. But Perry responded with his fourth 3-pointer of the half to
give the Bears a 36-34 halftime edge.
Lenoir-Rhyne opened the second stanza with a 15-6 run to open an
11-point advantage - its largest lead of the game, before the
Trojans answered with a 14-5 outburst of their own, to battle back
within 56-54 with more than 11 minutes remaining in the contest.
Jones scored six points during the comeback, with Tre' Fields and
McClain each adding three apiece.
The Bears countered with four straight free throws, with AU's
Adekambi and Maurice Howard responding with four to keep the
deficit at two with 7:37 left. Jones dropped in a pair of free
throws with 4:22 on the clock to even the score at 62 apiece, but
L-R's Morgan connected on a trey to regain the lead and the Trojans
were unable to overtake L-R down the stretch. Jones drained two
free throws with 44 seconds left to pull the Trojans within 69-68,
but Perry grabbed his own miss on the other end and dropped in the
put-back to give L-R the three-point edge. AU was unable to connect
on a game-tying basket in the final moments.
Anderson returns to action on Tuesday, when the Trojans play host
to 23rd-ranked Lincoln Memorial in a rare Tuesday night South
Atlantic Conference matchup. Tip-off versus the Railsplitters is
slated for 8 p.m. at the Abney Center.