AU men rally from 13-point deficit to win at Mount
January 26th, 2008
The Anderson University men’s basketball team evened its Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference record with a 70-68 victory over Mt. St. Joseph on Saturday at the Harrington Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Ravens, who improved to 9-10 overall and 5-5 in loop play, were led by Mike Russell with 18 points. The junior hit 5-of-15 shots from the field and all four free throws, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range.
Keith Dabney also finished in double figures with 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. Rodney Holliday had nine points off the bench and Ryan Fultz added eight points.
Mt. St. Joseph shot 53 percent from the field, including 56 percent in the first half when it led 37-24. AU finished the game at 39 percent shooting, including 54 percent in the second half when it outscored the Lions 46-31.
The Ravens had a 36-31 advantage on the boards, including 18-8 on the offensive end. The Lions had the edge in assists (14-8) and blocks (3-2) while the visitors had the lead in bench points (24-13), second chance points (20-7), turnovers (10-17) and steals (5-3).
The Ravens rallied from 13 points down in the final nine minutes, outscoring the Lions 24-9 down the stretch. AU used a 7-0 run over a three-minute span to cut the deficit to 63-59 with 5:30 left in the game.
The tied the contest for the first time in the second half at 65 on a pair of free throws by Dabney and took their first lead since 5-2 with a free throw by Brandon Coffer to make it 67-66 with just under a minute left.
Jordan Wiseman hit a pair of free throws and Coffer added another to make it 70-68 in the final seconds and a missed layup at the buzzer secured the victory.
AU travels to Transylvania on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
