Box Score Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania men's basketball team shook off a ravenous attack by the Anderson University Ravens in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference semifinals on Saturday afternoon, spreading their wings on a late 15-3 run for an 82-74 win at the Beck Center.
The Pioneers defeated the Ravens to advance to their second consecutive HCAC conference championship game where they will take on the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Fightin' Engineers tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m. at the Beck Center.
The No. 6-seeded Engineers staged their second upset in two nights, upending No. 2 seed Franklin in a on Saturday evening to advance into Sunday's championship bout with Transy.
Zach Larimore led an intense effort for the Pioneers with a career-high 22 points on 8 for 11 shooting from the field while connecting on 4 of 5 three-point baskets. Gabe Schmitt had a closing-time performance to remember, notching 15 of his 17 points in the second half, including 11 in the final seven minutes of play.
After being swept by Transy in the regular-season series, the tournament No. 5 seed Ravens came out firing, fresh off the heels of a quarterfinal victory over Bluffton the previous evening. The Pioneers erased an early deficit with timely scores from Michael Jefferson and Zach Larimore to climb into a 10-all tie. Until the final minute of the half, neither team would lead by more than three points.
Larimore changed the tight margins on his third triple of the half with 50 seconds left to push the Pioneers ahead, 38-33. Anderson answered back on a slam jam on their final possession of the half to cut Transy's halftime advantage to three points.
Transylvania shot 60 percent from the field and three-point land in the first half but Anderson clung tightly thanks to a turnover margin advantage of plus-five.
After shooting 5 for 14 from behind the arc in the first half, Anderson torched the nets from outside, hitting six of their first eight threeballs in the second half.
The Ravens rode their hot outside shooting to a 67-63 lead with 8:33 left in regulation when the Pioneers made their move, erupting on a game-changing 15-3 run. All 15 points came by way of Schmitt and Larimore as the Pioneers seized a 78-70 advantage with 5:08 to go.
The run gave the Pioneers their necessary cushion to finish off the semifinal victory; Spencer McKinney scored five late points to help Transylvania across the finish line, spotting the Pioneers a nine-point lead with 91 seconds left in the contest.
Jefferson became a part of Pioneer history in the waning moments of the contest, hitting two free throws to become the 50th member of the Transylvania men's basketball 1,000-point scoring club. The junior finished the game with 12 points.
McKinney finished the game with 17 points, five rebounds, and one assist on 6 for 9 shooting from the field as the other double-digit scorer for the Pioneers.
Anderson cooled off from outside as the game drew to a close, finishing 12 for 29 from deep while the Pioneers shot 9 for 16 from downtown for the evening.
Transylvania's victory vaults the Pioneers into their second consecutive HCAC championship game. The Pioneers are aiming to clinch the title this year after being narrowly edged as a No. 2 seed by then No. 1 seed Hanover, 76-73 in the 2019 HCAC Championship.
Tomorrow's HCAC Championship is the first title-game meeting between the Pioneers and Engineers since the 2011-2012 season.
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