Anderson Powers Past Franklin

The Anderson University men's basketball team powered past Franklin College with a 106-87 victory during Saturday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) matchup in Franklin.

Anderson (11-12, 8-8) powered to a 31-14 start in the opening 9 minutes, 34 seconds. Franklin (15-8, 11-5) cut Anderson's lead to 43-37, but the Ravens went on a 9-2 run in the final 3:02 of the half to enter halftime with a 52-39 lead.

The Ravens held a steady lead in the second half, as they held a 79-69 advantage with 8:57 to go. Franklin scored the next six points to cut Anderson's lead to 79-75 with 6:57 remaining. Maurice Knight then completed a bucket-and-1 to kick start a 16-1 run. Both teams scored 11 points each in the final 3:40.

"That was a really fun game, we played with great energy, effort, and enthusiasm," Coach Owen Handy said. "I think what I am most pleased with is how we answered their runs. We jumped out to a big lead early, but we know Franklin is too good a team to go away. Every time they threw a punch, we were able to stand in and respond."

Anderson captured a 26-12 advantage in fast-break points.

"We did a great job of pushing the tempo. That started with Ronny Williams, but Malik Laffoon, Austin Lyons, and Maurice Knight all pushed the ball aggressively off defensive rebounds."

While Franklin only turned the ball 11 times, Anderson committed less than half of the turnovers with five. The Ravens outscored the Grizzlies 18-6 off turnovers.

Knight racked up 31 points and eight rebounds. The 6-foot-4 junior win from Frankton converted 10-of-13 (76.9 percent) shots from the field and made each of his seven free-throw attempts.

"I do not have enough superlatives for the game Maurice played. He was red hot shooting the ball early, played a fantastic game defensively, had several big rebounds down the stretch, and had an absolutely critical three-point play with about seven minutes to play after Franklin had cut our lead to four."

Lyons contributed 24 points. Williams notched 16 points, seven assists and four steals. Laffoon provided 14 points.

Michael Rogers turned in 12 points for the Ravens.

"We got a really important contribution from Michael [on Saturday]. He did a great job of being active without the basketball, finding space, and finishing around the basket."

Larry Johnson blocked two shots. Dalton DuBois scored four points and Jalen Johnson added three points. Larry Johnson rounded out the Anderson scoring effort with two points.

The Ravens are slated for two HCAC matchups at O.C. Lewis Gymnasium. Anderson battles Manchester University (8-15, 6-10) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Ravens then host Mount St. Joseph University (6-17, 4-12) for Senior Day on Saturday at 3 p.m.