Anderson Uses Late Surge to Defeat Lions 87-74

SAC leader Anderson University pulled away from Mars Hill College late to earn an 87-74 victory over the Lions at Stanford Arena Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Trojans improve to 16-4 overall and 11-1 in conference play, while the Lions fall to 4-17 overall, 2-10 in conference play.

Sammy Emile passed the 1,000-point barrier for his career with a 28-point effort for MHC. The senior connected on 6-of-14 field goal attempts and 13-of-16 free throw attempts, and added five assists for good measure. Terrell Harris added 23 points on 9-of-14 field goals for the Lions. Four players scored in double figures for Anderson, paced by Denzail Jones' 20 points. Nick Trull added a complete effort for the Trojans, filling up the stat sheet with 14 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Taylor Shugart added 13 points and Chandler Hash chipped in 12 for the Trojans.

Cleaning up the glass paid big dividends for Anderson, which held a 57-37 rebounding edge, including 24-7 on the offensive end. The offensive rebounding effort produced a 25-3 advantage in second-chance points for the Trojans. With several starters on the bench in foul trouble, the Anderson bench rose to the occasion to outscore their Mars Hill counterparts 34-14.

After trailing most of the afternoon, Mars Hill used a 10-1 run to cut the Anderson lead to 62-60 with 9:44 remaining. Emile scored eight of the points in the run on a three and five free throws, while JaShawn Anderson contributed a pair of free throws during the stretch. Emile broke the 1,000-point mark for his career with a free throw that cut the score to 62-59.

The Trojans responded with the deciding run. An 18-4 surge over the next six minutes gave Anderson an 80-66 lead with 3:28 left and effectively put the game out of reach. The Trojans got to the free throw line often during this stretch, with nine points during the run coming from the charity stripe. Hash scored eight points, and Trull added five during the game's deciding stretch. On the afternoon, the Trojans connected on 32-of-41 free throw attempts (78 percent), while the Lions converted 22-of-39 (56.4 percent) from the charity stripe.

Anderson jumped out to a quick lead on Mars Hill, building a 14-point lead with 11:45 remaining in the first half. Jones paced the quick start for the Trojans, scoring 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting before the half. With Anderson leading 31-22, the Lions went to work. A 14-4 run gave MHC a 36-35 lead with 1:20 remaining in the first half. Harris scored 6 points during the run, while Emile contributed five including a circus shot in the lane while drawing the foul. Harris and Emile paced the Lions in the first half with 16 and 12 points respectively.

The lead wouldn't last long however, as Anderson rallied to score the last five points of the half to take a 40-36 lead into intermission despite being held to just 29.3 percent shooting (12-of-41). In the first half, the Lions connected on 12-of-27 (44.4 percent) of their field goal attempts. The Trojans work on the offensive glass made up for the disparity in field goal percentage, with 12 offensive boards producing a 13-2 advantage in second chance points for Anderson. On the afternoon, Mars Hill connected on 42.3 percent of its field goal attempts (22-of-52), while Anderson hit 24-of-74 (32.4 percent).

Mars Hill will be in action at home again Wednesday night against SAC foe Lincoln Memorial, with tip-off set for 8 p.m.