Box Score Anderson, Ind. – The Transylvania men's basketball team won a marathon afternoon over the Anderson University Ravens, 83-71 on Saturday at O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.
Trailing by nine points with just under 10 minutes left in regulation, the Pioneers exploded for a 17-0 run over the next six minutes to take the lead for good in one of their signature wins of the season.
Transylvania improved to 8-5 overall on the season and 3-3 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play while Anderson fell to 5-4 in conference play and 10-6 overall.
Hunter Penn set new career-highs for points in a half and game with 21 first half points to lead the Pioneers with 25 points on a sharp 11 for 13 day from the floor, adding seven rebounds in the win.
Brandon Cromwell scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, including 10 of 11 free throws over the final half to kickstart the game-changing run.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair in which both teams displayed high-octane offense. Penn took advantage of mismatches inside for his monster scoring half while Ravens wing Maurice Knight, the second-leading scorer in the conference, fueled Anderson with a 23-point half. Penn had the final word in the half as the freshman advanced to the free throw line; after burying his first free throw, Penn followed the missed second free throw for a putback bucket as time expired, handing the Pioneers a 45-43 halftime lead.
Both Transylvania and Anderson shot 64 percent from the field in the first half as each side took advantage of good looks from the floor.
Colby Napier aided the offensive cause for Transylvania in the first half, tallying 14 of his 16 points in the opening half on 5 for 6 shooting from the field. Napier was clutch from the foul line, hitting all five of his charity tosses on the afternoon.
Anderson responded first in the second half with a 7-0 run to climb ahead of the Pioneers. The Ravens increased their lead to seven points in the first four minutes of the half before Cromwell surged to cut the deficit to 52-49 at the 14:59 mark of the second half.
As Transylvania trailed 61-54 with 11 and a half minutes to go, Cromwell attacked the rack and made four straight free throws, once again cutting the margin to three points at 61-58. But the Ravens responded with a 6-0 run to claim a 67-58 lead with 9:16 left.
Cromwell began Transy's big run with a three-point play, and scored two more free throws on the ensuing possession. Simon Smith followed with back to back scores on the way to matching a career-high nine-point performance for the second straight game to suddenly tie up the game at 67-67 with 7:08 remaining.
The drought continued for Anderson while the Pioneers came up with stops and consistent scoring over the next three minutes; following his big first half, Knight was held to six points the rest of the way on 3 for 12 shooting by the Pioneers. Zach Larimore capped off a 17-0 run with a three-pointer from the top of the perimeter to hand the Pioneers their largest lead of the day at 75-67.
Anderson whittled the lead down to five points with a minute to go, but Jack Patton canned a clutch fadeaway jumper in the paint to seal up the game for Transylvania.
The Pioneers finished the day shooting 53 percent from the floor and 28 for 38 from the foul line as they held Anderson to 28 points in the second half.
Cromwell added four steals in the game for his sixth game of the season with multiple steals.
Transylvania returns home next to host the Hanover College Panthers on Wednesday, January 19. Tip-off between the rival Panthers and Pioneers is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from the Beck Center.
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