Ravens Rally Past Cardinals in Dramatic Fashion

The Anderson University men's basketball team (3-0) earned a hard-fought win against North Central College (1-3) by a score of 68-66 on Saturday in Naperville, Ill.

COACH CARTER COLLINS'S COMMENTS

We definitely have some issues that we need to fix, but we are highly fortunate that they are things that we CAN fix. I didn't think that we played very well, but we again battled in the last five minutes, and made just enough plays down the stretch to squeak out a victory. We have another big challenge right away on Monday at Carthage, so we'll see how much progress we can make on our issues between now and then. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cardinals opened the contest with eight of the first nine points, including the first six. 
• The Ravens began chipping away at the deficit with seven and half minutes left down 26-16.
• The Ravens would finish those 7 minutes, 30 seconds scoring 11-of-14 total baskets. Anderson outscored the Cardinals 21-8 during the stretch to take a 37-34 lead into the half. 
• North Central came out of the half firing on all cylinders, hitting seven of the first nine shots and taking a 46-41 lead. 
• The game was back and forth until about 5 minutes left when the Ravens were down 58-54.
• The Ravens sparked a 12-4 run during the next 2:45 to take a 66-62 lead. Cam Smith hit the go-ahead jumper and a 3-pointer from Bryson Huckeby put the Ravens ahead by four.
• North Central responded with baskets on consecutive possessions to knot the score at 66-66 in the final minute.
• Coming out of a timeout, Elijah Mattingly drained the go-ahead shot to put the Ravens ahead 68-66 with 39 seconds to go.
• In the last 15 seconds, the Cardinals missed a 3-pointer, but the Ravens missed a free throw to give North Central one final possession. The Cardinals advanced the ball following a timeout.
• The finish was a tight one as the Cardinals executed a play for a layup that hit the rim and bounced out as time expired.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Ravens converted 26-of-57 (45.6 percent) on shots from the field while Cardinals hit 25-of-58 (43.1 percent) attempts from the floor.
• The Cardinals drained 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) shots from the free-throw line, while the Ravens knocked down 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) attempts from the charity stripe.
• The Cardinals hit 9-of-23 (39.1 percent) shots from 3-point range while the Ravens converted 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) attempts from the perimeter.
• Anderson tallied five steals throughout the game, while North Central stole the ball two times. 
• The Cardinals committed 14 turnovers while the Ravens turned the ball over nine times. The Ravens outscored the Cardinals 19-5 off turnovers.
• North Central held a 25-11 advantage from points off the bench and a 9-7 advantage on second-chance opportunities. 
• Cam Smith – 19 Points, 8-11 FG (72.7%), 2 Assists
• Elijah Mattingly – 15 Points, 5 Rebounds, 4 Steals, 3 Blocks, 2 Assists
• Bryson Huckeby – 13 Points, 9 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Steal
• Tate Ivanyo – 10 Points, 3 Rebounds
• Gavin Dowling – 7 Points, 2 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Block
• Kenney Troutman – 4 Points, 1 Rebounds
• Robert Davidson – 3 Rebounds
• Alex Hunt – 3 Rebounds
• Jordan Gadis – 2 Rebounds, 1 Assist
• DeMonte Ferguson – 2 Rebounds

UP NEXT

The Ravens are back in action against Carthage College (3-1) on Monday at 5:30 p.m. ET in Kenosha, Wis. Carthage is ranked No. 18 in the latest D3hoops.com poll.