Pioneers Pull Away from Ravens in HCAC Tournament Semifinals

Top-seeded Transylvania University pulled away from the fifth-seeded Anderson University men's basketball team with a 92-84 victory in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Tournament Semifinals on Saturday in Lexington, Ky.

"I am incredibly proud of our team," Coach Owen Handy said. "We really battled [on Saturday]. Transylvania is a terrific team, and for 32 minutes we played them even on their home floor."

Anderson (14-13) started with an 8-3 lead in the opening 2 minutes, 8 seconds and then held a 10-5 lead with 16:19 left in the half. Michael Jefferson made a layup for Transylvania (18-8) to narrow Anderson's advantage to a single-possession game. The two teams remained with a possession of each for the next 14:47. Zach Larimore knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Pioneers a 38-33 lead with 50 seconds left in the half. Larry Johnson produced a dunk for the Ravens, cutting Transylvania's lead to three at halftime.

Spencer McKinney made a bucket-and-1 to start the second half, putting Transylvania up by six. The next five points came from the Ravens as Dalton DuBois made a pair of free throws and Maurice Knight drained 3-pointer.

Gabe Schmitt scored four points on two possessions to give the Pioneers a 47-42 advantage with 16:56 to go. Laffoon made a pair of free throws and Knight knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 47-all. Transylvania dropped the next six points to take a 53-47 lead. Anderson then chipped away and then gained a 57-56 advantage with 12:19 to go. The Pioneers scored the next five points to go ahead 61-57.

Trailing 63-59, Anderson put together an 8-0 run on 3-ponters from Jake Gudorf and Laffoon as well as a basket from Larry Johnson to take a 67-63 lead with 8:33 remaining. The Ravens also held a 69-65 advantage with 8:08 to go.

Following a media timeout with 7:52 remaining, Transylvania rattled off a 13-1 run 2:44 to pull ahead to a 78-70 lead. Both teams scored 14 points apiece for the remainder of the contest.

"The tide turned for us a little bit coming out of the sub-8 media timeout. Down the stretch of the game we wore down a bit, and I thought we looked like a team that played a tough 40 minutes [on Friday], and they looked fresh. That's not a criticism or complaint, they earned the bye with their regular-season performance. I also thought Transylvania executed really well down the stretch of the game. They got great shots almost every possession & couple key offensive rebounds that they turned in to points."

Transylvania out rebounded Anderson 35-21 and held a 12-4 advantage on second-chance points.

The Pioneers committed 16 turnovers while the Ravens turned the ball over 10 times. Despite finishing minus-six on turnovers, Transylvania outscored Anderson 18-12 off turnovers.

Transylvania converted 30-of-51 (58.8 percent) shots from the field and 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) attempts from 3-point range. Anderson hit 28-of-58 (48.3 percent) attempts from the floor and 12-of-29 (41.4 percent) shots from behind the arc.

Laffoon poured in 27 points to lead the Ravens. The 6-foot-2 senior guard from Bloomington knocked down 10-of-13 (76.9 percent) shots from the floor and each of his three 3-point attempts. Laffoon also collected three steals.

Knight notched 14 points. Austin Lyons contributed 11 points. DuBois recorded eight points and six assists. Tate Cooper provided seven points. Larry Johnson added six points. Ronny Williams totaled five points, five assists and three steals. Jalen Johnson and Gudorf rounded out the Anderson scoring effort with three points apiece.

Larimore paced the Pioneers with 22 points. McKinney and Schmitt turned in 17 points each. Jefferson tallied 12 points, six assists and seven rebounds. Brandon Cromwell also dished out four assists.

Anderson graduates seniors Laffoon, J.D. Bembry, Larry Johnson and Jalen Johnson.

"It is a cliché to say, but we left it all out there [on Saturday], and that is a testament to the leadership and competitiveness of our seniors."

POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE