Anderson Edges Mount St. Joseph on Final Possession

Anderson University men's basketball junior Camden Smith went coast to coast for a layup to put the Ravens ahead against Mount St. Joseph University 76-74 with 3.5 seconds to go.

The Ravens (11-6, 9-1) secured the win when the two-thirds court shot attempt by Mount St. Joseph's Willard Cluxton struck the back iron as time expired during Saturday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) matchup in Cincinnati. Anderson's first meeting with Mount St. Joseph (6-11, 5-5) this season on Dec. 3, 2022 in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium also was decided by two points on the final possession.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The contest oscillated the entire first half with the biggest lead of the first half by either team was when Anderson took a 10-5 lead with 16 minutes, 17 seconds remaining in the half.
• The first half consisted of 11 lead changes and seven ties as Mount St. Joseph entered halftime with a 36-35 lead.
• Anderson scored the first five points of the second half to take a 40-36 lead. Following a timeout, the Lions scored on consecutive possessions to tie the game at 40-40.
• Anderson turned in the next six points to take a 46-40 lead with 15:45 remaining.
• The Lions tied the game back at 59-59 with 9:05 to go when Matthew Menninger knocked down a 3-pointer.
• Anderson steadily built a 72-66 lead with 3:32 left in the game.
• The Lions worked their way back into the game after making defensive stops on five consecutive possessions. Mount St. Joseph put together a 5-0 run to cut its deficit to 72-71, which was capped off by a pair of free throws from Dayne Gardner with 59 seconds remaining.
• Anderson took a 74-71 lead when Elijah Mattingly found Bryson Huckeby for a layup on a cut to the basket with 40 seconds remaining.
• Following a timeout, Michael McKenzie pitched the ball back to Alex Totten, who drained a 27-foot 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds to go to tie the game at 74-74.
• Smith went coast to coast and drove the left side of the line to hit a floating layup with 3.5 seconds remaining. The two-thirds court shot from Cluxton struck the back iron as time expired.
• Once the Ravens took a 37-36 lead with 19:32 left in the game, the Lions never regained the lead. Mount St. Joseph tied the game three times in the second half.

COACH CARTER COLLINS'S COMMENTS

It was another close game that fortunately falls in our direction. I thought we gave ourselves a great chance during the second half - we came into the final few minutes with a lead, and were able to hold on. At this point, I have a lot of confidence in our team when games are tight headed down the stretch.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Mount St. Joseph turned the ball over 14 times while Anderson committed just seven turnovers. The Ravens outscored the Lions 14-6 off turnovers.
• Mount St. Joseph outrebounded Anderson 40-26. The Lions held a 13-7 advantage on offensive rebounds and outscored the Ravens 17-10 on second-chance points.
• Mount St. Joseph drained 11-of-22 (50 percent) shots from 3-point range while Anderson hit 8-of-23 (34.8 percent) shots from the perimeter.
• The Ravens converted 28-of-59 (47.5 percent) shots from the field while the Lions knocked down 28-of-61 (45.9 percent) attempts from the floor.
• Anderson hit 12-of-15 (80 percent) attempts from the free-throw line while Mount St. Joseph made 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) shots from the charity stripe.
• Elijah Mattingly – 15 Points, 3 Steals, 3/5 (60%) 3FG
• Bryson Huckeby – 15 Points, 9 Rebounds
• Camden Smith – 15 Points
• Tate Ivanyo – 11 Points
• Alex Hunt – 9 Points
• Jordan Gadis – 6 Points
• Fred Shropshire – 5 Points

UP NEXT

The Ravens battle Bluffton University (4-13, 2-8) in HCAC action on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Bluffton, Ohio.