Top-seeded Anderson University men's basketball team erased a 16-point deficit to rally past fourth-seeded Manchester University with a 75-73 victory during Friday's Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) semifinal in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.
The Ravens (22-4) face off with third-seeded Hanover College (18-9) in the HCAC championship game on Saturday at 6 p.m. in O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.
Manchester opened with an 8-4 lead. Kenney Troutman made consecutive baskets to tie the game at 8-8.
Bryant Smith knocked down a 3-pointer for Manchester to give the Spartans an 11-8 lead with 14 minutes, 16 seconds left in the first half. Manchester would lead for the next 16:50. Elijah Mattingly would contribute a basket to cut the deficit to one. The Spartans would then respond with a 9-2 run to take a 20-12 lead with 11:05 left in the first half. Logan Willoughby provided five points in the run.
After Anderson made a free throw, the Spartans recorded a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 16 with 4:49 left in the first half, their largest of the night.
The Ravens trimmed the deficit to 12. Mattingly then blocked a 3-pointer, which turned into a momentum-changing 3-pointer from Tate Ivanyo in transition. Manchester held a 29-20 lead with 3:16 left in the first half.
Bryant Smith knocked down a 3-pointer before the end of the half to build Manchester's lead to 12. With the Ravens trailing by 11 in the final possession of the first half, Bryson Huckeby drained a key 3-pointer to narrow Manchester's lead to 36-28 at halftime.
Ivanyo began Anderson's momentum with a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the second half. The Ravens began to chip away until Bryson Huckeby tied the game at 40-40 with a layup with 17:26 remaining.
The next 10:49 proved to be a title fight consisted of nine lead changes and four ties.
Cam Smith broke a 60-60 tie with a layup with 6:06 remaining, but Zach Sawyer evened the game at 62-62 with 4:30 to go. Anderson went ahead 64-62 with another layup from Cam Smith. Sawyer then committed his fourth foul with key charge drawn by Ivanyo.
Huckeby made consecutive layups to put the Ravens ahead by six. A key 3-pointer from Mitch Mendenhall kept Manchester within striking distance, trimming the lead to 68-65 with 2:34 remaining.
Anderson traded pairs of points on the following three possessions. Ivanyo then split a pair of free throws to put Anderson ahead 75-71 with 13 seconds to go.
Sawyer was fouled with four seconds to go to get two free throws. He made the first shot. Needing to regain possession, Sawyer intentionally missed his second free throw, but Willoughby got the rebound.
Willoughby was then fouled on a 3-point attempt with two seconds to go and Manchester trailing 75-72. He missed the first free throw, causing the crowd to erupt. After making the second free throw and trimming the deficit to 75-73, Willoughby intentionally missed his third free throw and got his own rebound. Willoughby attempted to put up a game-tying shot, but Ivanyo stripped the ball. Manchester recovered the ball, but time expired, sealing Anderson's tournament advancement.
The Ravens powered to a 15-5 advantage in fast-break points.
Anderson converted 16-of-23 (69.6 percent) shots from the free-throw line while Manchester knocked down 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) attempts from the charity stripe.
The Ravens outrebounded the Spartans 39-33, but Manchester held a 15-9 advantage in second-chance points.
Anderson hit 27-of-59 (45.8 percent) attempts from the field while Manchester converted 28-of-63 (44.4 percent) shots from the floor.
The Spartans drained 9-of-23 (39.1 percent) shots from 3-point range while the Ravens hit 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) attempts from the perimeter.
Anderson committed 12 turnovers while Manchester turned the ball over 11 times. The Ravens still outscored the Spartans 14-13 off turnovers.
Cam Smith notched 15 points and seven rebounds for the Ravens while Ivanyo recorded 15 points and five rebounds. Mattingly notched 12 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Huckeby contributed nine points, nine rebounds and four assists while Bryce Williams provided nine points, four assists and two steals. Troutman turned in eight points and three steals. Jordan Gadis scored six points while Gavin Dowling rounded out Anderson's scoring with one point and two blocks.
Bryant Smith paced the Spartans with 17 points while adding a block. Sawyer filled the stat sheet with 16 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals. Willoughby produced 15 points, three assists and two steals while Coy Hampton pulled down 15 rebounds and blocked a shot.
"Man, what a game that was," Coach Carter Collins said. "Instant classic! I thought we played about as poorly as we possibly could the first 15 minutes, but we were able to stay composed and made a big run at the end of the first half to make the deficit manageable. The second half was played much more at our tempo. We have another big one tomorrow at 6PM!"
ANDERSON'S HCAC SEMIFINAL POSTGAME INTERVIEW
Fans can tune into Anderson's HCAC semifinal postgame interview featuring head coach Carter Collins, junior Tate Ivanyo and senior Cam Smith here.