ANDERSON, Ind. – Transylvania freshman forward Parker Stansberry poured in 10 points during a 14-0 run to open the second half Saturday, propelling the Pioneers to a 75-45 win over Anderson in men's Heartland Conference basketball action.
The Pioneers are 3-2 overall, 1-0 in HCAC play, while the Ravens are 2-2, 0-1 HCAC.
Transy's run to open the second half broke open what had been a close matchup. The Pioneers would go on to build a lead of as many as 19 points, 56-37, on two free throws by Barrett Meyer following a technical foul on the Anderson bench at the 11:29 mark, their biggest lead to that point.
Late buckets by reserves Tommy Sirkin, Leavitt Morrison, and freshman Chris Taylor helped the Pioneers to a 28-point lead at 73-45 and a final basket by Joe Jennings set the final margin. Transy held the Ravens to just 15 second-half points as a team.
Stansberry finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Ethan Spurlin led the Pioneers with 16 points and nine boards, canning eight of 12 shots. Brandon Rash had 13 points and four assists, running his career scoring total to 1,029.
Barrett Meyer added 12 points and four assists. He has 973 career points.
Transy finished the game shooting almost 59 percent from the field compared to 38 percent for Anderson.
Transy forged a 32-30 halftime lead as Rash took over the offense, tallying the Pioneers' final nine points of the period. He finished with 11 first-half points, hitting five of six shots from the field.
Neither team led by more than eight in the opening 20 minutes, which saw Transy connect on nearly 56 percent of its field goal attempts while Anderson was at 50 percent. Transy was just one of eight from long-range, but made 14 of 19 inside the arc.
Spurlin had eight first-half points and Taylor Botkin added four points and four rebounds off the bench. Botkin finished with seven points and four boards.
Isaac Loechle had 11 points for the Ravens, hitting all four of his field goal attempts, including three of three from long range. He finished the game with 11 points and was the only Raven in double figures.
Transy is back in action on Wednesday, when the Pioneers meet Earlham in their first game of the year at the Beck Center. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.