Anderson Men’s Basketball Captures 2023 HCAC Championship

The second-seeded Anderson University men's basketball team (18-9) took a 73-55 victory against the fourth-seeded Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (17-11) in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Championship Final on Saturday in North Manchester.

Anderson locked up the first conference tournament title in program history. The Ravens are making the program's second ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Anderson qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2010, advanced to the second round and finished the season with a 23-6 record.

Tate Ivanyo was selected as the 2023 HCAC Tournament MVP. Camden Smith was also named to the all-tournament team. Ivanyo averaged 16.5 points and 5.5 rebounds during the tournament while Smith averaged 19 points.

COACH CARTER COLLINS'S COMMENTS

I could not be prouder of the guys. This isn't the NBA, where all sorts of analysts and commentators make predictions in the preseason about who will be good and who will win championships... But if it was, nobody would have picked us in the preseason this year. Too young, graduated too many good players, first year head coach... But in the end, the only thing that matters is if the guys in the locker room believe, and ours never doubted for one second. They have been an absolute joy to coach. I'm especially proud of the way our guys dominated the final ten minutes of both games this weekend - that's toughness, and our guys have it. Looking forward to next weekend, as we make our first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2010.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Anderson took a 6-2 lead in the first couple of minutes with consecutive 3-pointers from Alex Hunt and Jordan Gadis.
• Miles McGowen completed the bucket-and-1 with 17 minutes, 17 seconds left in the first half to cut Anderson's lead to 6-5.
• Both teams kept trading leads. Tate Ivanyo knocked down a 3-pointer to put Anderson ahead 16-13 with 11:48 left in the first half.
• Camden Smith drained a 3-pointer to lift Anderson to a 26-19 advantage with 6:58 left in the first half.
• Fred Shropshire extended Anderson's lead to nine with a 3-pointer of his own.
• The Ravens entered halftime with a 35-26 lead. Anderson knocked down 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) shots from 3-point range in the first half while the Fightin' Engineers made 3-of-9 (33.3 percent) attempts from the perimeter.
• Anderson opened the second half with an 8-2 run to take a 43-28 lead with 15:29 to go. Smith made a pair of layups during the run.
• Rose-Hulman compiled a 9-1 run to cut the lead to seven. McGowen scored six points in the run.
• Anderson used a 12-3 run to go ahead 66-51 with 2:22 to go. Ivanyo dropped eight points on the run.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Anderson drained 26-of-48 (54.2 percent) shots from the field while Rose-Hulman made 19-of-55 (34.5 percent) attempts from the floor.
• The Ravens converted 10-of-23 (43.5 percent) shots from 3-point range while the Fightin' Engineers hit 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) attempts from the perimeter.
• Anderson outrebounded Rose-Hulman 35-27. The Fightin' Engineers held a 15-11 advantage in offensive rebounds, but Anderson still outscored Rose-Hulman 12-6 on second-chance points.
• The Ravens closed out with a 7-0 advantage in fast-break points.
• Anderson committed 12 turnovers while Rose-Hulman turned the ball over nine times. The Fightin' Engineers outscored the Ravens 19-11 off turnovers.
• The Ravens converted 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) shots from the free-throw line while the Fightin' Engineers made 12-of-18 (66.7 percent) attempts from the charity stripe.
• Camden Smith – 19 Points
• Tate Ivanyo – 17 Points, 10 Rebounds
• Jordan Gadis – 14 Points, 6/8 (75%) FG
• Elijah Mattingly – 9 Points
• Bryson Huckeby – 4 Points, 2 Blocks
• Alex Hunt – 4 Points
• Gavin Dowling – 3 Points, 2 Blocks
• Fred Shropshire – 3 Points

UP NEXT

The Men's Basketball NCAA D-III Tournament Selection Show is set for Monday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m.