January 7, 2012

Men's Basketball: Panthers outlast Pensacola Christian 73-62

LaGrange downed Pensacola Christian 73-62 on Saturday at Mariotti Gym. The Panthers are now 5-9 overall with the win, matching last season's total. The Eagles slipped to 7-6 on the season.

Kyron Anderson led the Panthers for the third time in the last four games. Anderson finished with a game-high 19 points, hitting 11-of-14 from the free throw line. The freshman is averaging 18 points per game since becoming eligible five games ago.

Blake Craft followed Anderson with a season-high 12 points off the bench. Aaron Power had 11 points and Joey Anderkavich added 10. Marcus Vaughn pulled down a game and season-high 13 rebounds.

Pensacola was playing its third game in as many days. The Eagles are on a 11-game, 16-day road trip. Adam Pahlsson led the Eagles with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Panthers won despite shooting 37 percent in the game and being outrebounded 49-35. The Panthers forced 25 turnovers by the Eagles and held them to 35.1 percent shooting in the game.

The game was physical with 51 fouls and three technicals called in the game. The Panthers were 30-of-44 from the line in the game. They made their last eight free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

Pensacola led only once in the game. Pahlsson's jumper put the Eagles up 7-5. Craft had a pair of 3-pointers as the Panthers ran off eight straight points and never trailed again.

The Panthers led by as many as 11 twice in the first half. They took a 39-32 lead at halftime. Craft had 10 of his points at the break.

Pensacola cut the deficit to four to start the second half, but a layup by Anderson and two straight baskets by Power pushed the lead to 10. Anderson scored on a layup to give the Panthers a 54-41 lead with 14 minutes left.

The Eagles came back and trailed 63-57 after a jumper by Pahlsson with three minutes left. The Panthers answered with eight straigh points to put the game out of reach. Anderkavich finished a three-point play, then a pair of free throws by Anderson made it 71-57.

Craft closed out the Panthers scoring with two free throws. Tyler Scott made a 3-pointer in the final seconds for the Eagles for the 73-62 final.

The Panthers host Rust on Sunday. It is the second meeting of the season with the Bearcats. Rust won 88-82 on its home courth back on Dec. 13.

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