Ravens Rally Past Spartans

The Anderson University men's basketball team (21-4, 16-2) rallied past Manchester University (15-10, 12-6) by a score of 96-86 during Friday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) matchup in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.

Closing out the season with a 16-2 record gives the Ravens the highest HCAC winning percentage in school history. It also marks the highest HCAC winning percentage by any conference team since the 2016-17 season.

Elijah Mattingly became the career blocks leader in Anderson's D-III Era with 115. The sophomore from Beech Grove broke the record of 112 set by 2022 graduate Maurice Knight.

Prior to the game, Anderson celebrated Senior Night, recognizing Alex Hunt, Jordan Gadis and Cam Smith.

COACH CARTER COLLINS'S COMMENTS

• Man, I'm not sure how we pulled that one out. It felt like nothing was going our way for a while there, and we compounded that issue by starting the game off pretty poorly. But, midway through the second half, we started to really battle. We were able to get out in transition, and that's been a key for us for a while now. We got just enough stops down the stretch to pull out a big victory.
• It was great to honor Alex, Jordan, and Cam before the game - all three guys have been such essential players for us for a long time now, and the legacy of their class is nothing but a gigantic success.

SENIOR COMMENTS

• Alex Hunt – We had a great night. It was a rough start to the game. I just know that even though I'm not playing and that a few others aren't playing, we have a next-man-up mentality. If you're on the court, you are very important to us. No man is left out. I'm just happy that we all came together and played a really good game at the end.
• Jordan Gadis – I would like to thank our crowd; we can't do it without them. Night in and night out, this facility is just a hard place to play for opposing teams. We started a little slow, but we were able to pick it up and move with our offense and fit that in with our defense to pull this one out. We knew how much it meant to our season and for redemption since we weren't able to pull it out the first time.
• Cam Smith – It was such a fun atmosphere. It was a tough game for us; we haven't been in too many tough games this year. We proved were able to stick together, stay poised and just do what we've been doing all season, which is just play hard and play together.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Manchester charged out to a 16-4 lead in the opening 3 minutes, 44 seconds of the game. Bryant Smith accounted for nine of the points.
• The Ravens chipped away and cut the deficit to 27-24 with 9:02 left in the first half.
• Manchester pulled ahead to a 47-34 with 3:43 left in the first half. Anderson responded with 8-0 run, which included five points from Jordan Gadis.
• The Spartans held a 52-48 lead at halftime. Logan Willoughby scored 21 points in the first half while going 5-for-5 from 3-point range.
• Manchester continued to maintain a steady lead for the first seven minutes of the second half.
• Trailing Manchester 66-59, Anderson scored the next six points to cut the lead to one.
• Blake Shewmaker made two free throws to extend the Spartans' lead to three. Gadis made a free throw. On the following possession, Robert Davidson made a alayup to tie the game at 68-68.
• Willoughby hit a shot, but Davidson tied the game at 70-70 with 9:20 remaining with a pair of free throws.
• Anderson took a 72-70 lead after Bryce Williams made a pair of free throws.
• The Ravens created separation after Elijah Mattingly and Cam Smith knocked down consecutive 3-pointers. Davidson made a layup to give Anderson an 81-73 lead with 6:25 to go.
• The Ravens outscored the Spartans 15-13 for the remainder of the contest.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Anderson converted 35-of-64 (54.7 percent) shots from the field while Manchester hit 33-of-87 (37.9 percent) attempts from the floor.
• The Ravens drained 19-of-25 (76 percent) shots from the free-throw line. Manchester knocked down 10-of-13 (76.9 percent) attempts from the charity stripe.
• Manchester made 10-of-33 (30.3 percent) attempts from 3-point range while Anderson converted 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) shots from behind the arc.
• The Spartans held a 47-40 rebounding advantage and a 22-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. Manchester outscored Anderson 10-6 on second-chance points.
• The Spartans held an 11-2 advantage in fast-break points.
• Elijah Mattingly – 20 Points, 17 Rebounds, 4 Blocks, 6/8 (75%) FG
• Bryce Williams – 16 Points, 3 Assists, 1 Block
• Tate Ivanyo – 16 Points
• Kenney Troutman – 11 Points, 2 Steals
• Robert Davidson – 11 Points
• Cam Smith – 7 Assists, 7 Points
• Jordan Gadis – 9 Points
• Gavin Dowling – 4 Points, 3 Assists, 1 Block
• Marco Beverly – 2 Points

UP NEXT

Anderson hosts the HCAC Tournament Semifinals and Finals in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium. The two semifinal games are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 23 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. while the championship game is set for Saturday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m.