RICHMOND, Indiana – A second-half rally brought Earlham College men's basketball to within four points of visiting Anderson University with under two minutes to play, but the Ravens survived to escape the Druley Performance Center with a 67-59 win over the Quakers on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS

Final Score:  Anderson 67, Earlham 59
Location: Richmond, Indiana – Druley Performance Gym
Records: Earlham 5-6, 1-3 HCAC / Anderson 6-5, 3-1 HCAC

THE SHORT STORY

Down 29-22 at the intermission, Earlham cut the deficit to three points, 32-29, with 17:35 to play on a John Sakaleros layup – part of his 11-point, 11-rebound double-double. Anderson got out of trouble largely thanks to an endless string of trips of the free-throw line, and extended its lead to double-digits, 42-32, on a Larry Johnson layup.

A back-to-back jumper and 3-pointer from Jamel Barnes Jr. reeled the Ravens back in and cut the margin to five, 42-37, with 11:56 remaining. Again, Anderson managed to extend its lead with a 9-2 surge lasting nearly four minutes, resulting in the Ravens holding a 51-39 advantage with 8:10 to play.

Earlham's last charge at Anderson came as the clock passed under the four-minute mark. Thomas Sanborn connected on three 3-pointers in the span of 1:57, and Kenneth Stalling Jr. tacked on a layup to bring the Quakers to within four, 60-56, with 1:49 showing on the clock. A conventional 3-point play from the Ravens' Maurice Knight was answered by another trey from Sanborn, keeping the deficit at four points. Malik Laffoon's layup extended the Anderson lead to six points, 65-59, and the Ravens connected on a pair of foul shots down the stretch to for the final eight-point margin.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Kenneth Stalling Jr. led Earlham with 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, while Jamel Barnes Jr. and Thomas Sanborn each added 12 points.

John Sakaleros' 11 boards led Earlham on the glass, and he completed the double-double with 11 points. Barnes also had eight rebounds for the Quakers.

Blake Bonin had a team-high five assists for Earlham.

Earlham finished the night with a 36.9 percent (24-of-65) shooting effort from the floor, and the Quakers were 7-of-25 from 3-point range. Anderson connected on 42.3 percent (22-of-52) of its shots.

Anderson was aided by 19 fouls called on Earlham, which resulted in a 19-for-25 ledger at the free-throw line for the Ravens. The Quakers were 4-for-7 at the charity stripe on 15 Raven fouls.

Maurice Knight led Anderson with 23 points, while Malik Laffoon finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

WHAT'S NEXT

Earlham men's basketball heads back onto the road when it travels to Terre Haute, Indiana, on Wednesday, Jan. 8, to face Rose-Hulman. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.