Box Score
Box score
HARTSVILLE, S.C. - Despite a career-high 21 points from senior
guard Nick Jackson, Anderson closed out its two-game road swing
with an 80-65 setback to Coker in South Atlantic Conference men's
basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Deloach Center.
Anderson (7-7, 3-5 SAC) suffered back-to-back losses for the
first time since late November, while Coker improved to 5-7 overall
and 4-4 in league action by claiming its second win in three
outings.
With the two teams combining for 45 attempts from beyond the
arc, Anderson won the long-range shooting battle by draining 11
treys, while the Cobras connected on eight 3-pointers on the
afternoon. But Coker won the rebounding battle, 33-23, and
converted 12 Trojan turnovers into 18 points.
Jackson equaled his career-high with 21 points, including 12 in
the first half, on the strength of a career-best seven 3-pointers.
The 6-foot-4 guard also pulled down four rebounds. Senior center
Chris Ross added 12 points, with senior Alani Adekambi recording
eight points and a team-high six rebounds. Freshman guard Maurice
Howard scored five points and dished out a career-high six
assists.
Coker senior Errick Bethel shared game-high honors with 21
points, while sophomore Donte Samuels tallied 19 points and Trey
Marshall added 18 points. Jalen Watson nearly posted a
double-double with eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Cobras, who capitalized on early Trojan turnovers to jump
out to an early 10-2 lead, led the contest wire-to-wire. Senior
Myson Jones and Jackson sandwiched 3-pointers around a trey by
Marshall to trim the Coker lead to 13-10, at the 14:31 mark of the
first half. However, the Cobras matched AU's long-range accuracy
with a pair of treys from Bethel and Marshall that book-ended a
short jumper from Ross that quickly rebuilt Coker's advantage to
19-12 with 13:06 remaining until halftime.
Howard nailed his lone 3-pointer of the contest less than a
minute later and Jackson followed shortly with another trey to cut
the deficit to just one, but the Trojans were unable to get any
closer the rest of the way, as the Cobras steadily pushed back out
to a 32-25 lead with less than four minutes left in the half and
claimed a 35-32 advantage at intermission.
After Samuels opened the second half with three straight points,
Ross and senior DJ McGowan dropped in close buckets to pull the
Trojans within 38-36 with more than 17 minutes remaining. But AU
was unable to overtake the Cobras, as Coker edged out to an
eighth-point lead with 13:34 left and took a double-digit, 57-47,
lead midway through the final half.
Myson Jones' second 3-pointer of the game cut Coker's lead to
just six with 7:29 on the clock, but the Cobras connected on
13-of-21 (61.9 percent) from the field in the final half, and
11-of-14 from the free throw line inside the final three minutes to
thwart any rally by the Trojans.
Anderson will get back on the hardwood on Wednesday, when the
Trojans welcome Mars Hill to the Abney Athletic Center for an 8
p.m. tip-off.