Box Score
Box score
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Anderson University men's basketball team
trimmed a 16-point second-half deficit to just seven, but was
unable to complete the comeback, falling, 80-65, to Queens
University in South Atlantic Conference action Saturday afternoon
at the Levine Center.
Anderson (8-10, 4-8 SAC) has dropped five of its last six and
has suffered three consecutive regular-season setbacks for the
first time since falling to Mars Hill, Newberry and Catawba during
the 2010-11 campaign. Queens improved to 11-7 overall and 8-4 in
the conference with its second-straight victory.
Anderson freshman Matthew McClain scored a career-high 15
points, including 11 in the first half on 6-of-9 shooting from the
field. Senior Nick Jackson shared team-high scoring honors with 15
points, while senior Myson Jones added 11 points and handed out a
team-best four assists. Senior Center Chris Ross pulled down a
team-high six rebounds.
Queens' junior Sean Morgan posted a double-double with a
game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds and was 11-of-13 from the field
on the afternoon. Junior guard Kendall Jones added 10 points for
the Royals.
The Royals edged AU on the boards, 30-27, while shooting 55.4
percent from the field, The Trojans connected on 20-of-43 on the
afternoon for a 46.5 percent shooting afternoon. Led by Morgan
inside, Queens outscored the Trojans, 44-20, in the paint and
turned a season-high 24 Anderson miscues into 31 points.
The game featured seven ties and seven lead changes, all in the
opening 20 minutes, with Queens grabbing the largest lead of the
frame, at seven points.
Queens used its inside strength to gain an early 6-5 advantage,
as the Royals pulled down a pair of offensive rebounds and scored
all six points inside the paint in the opening moments. Ross evened
the contest at six apiece with one of two from the line at the
15:39 mark. But the Royals capitalized on a pair of AU turnovers
and responded with seven unanswered points over the next two
minutes to give Queens a 13-6 advantage with 13:56 left in the
half.
The Trojans' Nick Jackson countered with a put-back while
drawing a foul and drained the free throw for an old-fashioned
three-point play to ignite a 6-0 run by the Trojans. Maurice Howard
followed the free throw with a driving layup down the right side of
the lane and sophomore Rakish Taylor added one of two from the line
to get AU within 13-12.
Queens' junior guard Rob Lewis snapped the AU run with a
3-pointer and Logan Evans' layup boosted the Royals' lead back to
18-12 midway through the first half, but the Trojans answered
again, as back-to-back 3-pointers, first from Jackson at the top of
the circle, then by McClain deep in the left corner, knotted the
contest at 18-18 at the 9:14 mark. Freshman Tre' Fields drained a
pair of free throws less than a minute later to give the Trojans
their first lead since the opening basket of the game.
The Royals then responded with a pair of four-point runs
sandwiched around a monstrous dunk by McClain to give Queens a
26-22 edge with more than six minutes remaining in the opening
half. Jackson then sparked an 8-2 outburst with a trey and
following a jumper from QU's Jones, McClain sored five unanswered
points to regain a brief, 30-28, lead for Anderson.
Moments later, with the score knotted at 32-32 at the 2:46 mark,
the Royals closed the half with an 8-1 run to take a 40-33 halftime
advantage.
The outburst continued through the first three minutes of the
second half, with the run extending to 17-2 as Queens built a 49-34
cushion. But the Trojans refused to go quietly, with Jackson
nailing a 3-pointer from the right side and Jones adding an
old-fashioned three-point play to pull AU within single digits, at
49-40 before the first media timeout of the second half.
Queens countered with another run, as back-to-back treys and a
free throw from sophomore Jared Hendryx gave the Royals their
largest lead of the afternoon, at 56-40 with 14:09 on the clock.
The Trojan offense then began chipping away at the double-digit
deficit, with AU posting an 11-2 surge to get as close as seven
midway through the final half. McClain and DJ McGowan fueled the
run with four points apiece.
However, the homestanding Royals responded with seven unanswered
points to reclaim a 14-point advantage and the Trojans were unable
to get any closer than 73-65 on Jones' second 3-pointer of the
contest with 1:33 on the clock.
The Trojans wrap up their two-game road swing with a trip to the
Volunteer State to square off against Carson-Newman on Wednesday
for the first time this season. Tip-off versus the Eagles at Holt
Fieldhouse is slated for 8 p.m.