Anderson Outlasts Mt. Healthy For Victory at Beacon Holiday Hardwood Classic
Mt. Healthy came out strong, outscoring Anderson 10-3 in the first frame thanks to five points from Duane Grigsby Jr. After Anderson scored the opening bucket, the Fighting Owls finished the quarter on a 10-1 scoring run. The Raptors struggled shooting from the field, going 1-for-12 in the first frame.
In the second quarter, each team displayed its quick-strike offense as the teams exchanged blows. Trailing 24-15 late in the first half, Anderson’s Tysin Weaver made a couple of layups via a Cooper Snider steal and assist to cut the deficit to five at 24-19, but two Anthony Cole free throws at the end of the half restored Mt. Healthy’s seven-point lead. The teams entered the locker rooms with the Fighting Owls leading, 26-19.
After a back-and-forth start to the second half, Anderson finally began to string together some scoring plays and shift the momentum. Down 32-23, Anderson’s Toby Strausbaugh made four consecutive shots at the end of the frame to pull Anderson within three at 32-29 entering the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter featured a tightly-played game as the Raptors kept the momentum going. A three-point play following a Mt. Healthy foul allowed Strausbaugh to tie the game at 32 with 7:09 left in the game, but the Fighting Owls quickly retaliated by going on a 5-0 run. After the teams traded buckets, Anderson capitalized on a missed jumper, and a Tysin Weaver layup knotted the game once more at 39-39.
The Raptors started to pull away in the final three minutes of the game thanks to their efforts at the free-throw line. Darius Harrison-Lydon, Eli Upchurch, and Cooper Snider each provided pivotal points to the Anderson offense. The Raptors closed out a 46-39 victory over Mt. Healthy at the Cintas Center for the second straight year.
Mt. Healthy (4-3) will have to turn around quickly, as it travels to West Clermont for a game on Monday, December 29. Anderson (4-3, 2-3 ECC) has now won three in a row and will look to maintain its momentum when it hosts Clermont Northeastern on Tuesday, December 30.
