ANDERSON, Indiana – Earlham College men's basketball was overtaken by host Anderson University late in the second half, and the Quakers came away with an 85-80 loss to the Ravens on Saturday afternoon at the O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.

Senior Chainey Zolman charted his second double-double of the season with 23 points and 14 rebounds in the loss.

THE BASICS

Final Score:  Anderson 85, Earlham 80
Location: Anderson, Indiana – O.C. Lewis Gymnasium
Records: Earlham 7-12, 3-9 HCAC / Anderson 10-9, 7-5 HCAC

HOW IT HAPPENED

Anderson took the lead for good on a Maurice Knight jumper with 6:07 remaining in the game, giving the Ravens a 64-63 lead. AU quickly extended its lead to five points, helped along by a conventional three-point play by Malik Laffoon with 5:29 on the clock.

AJ White's fastbreak layup with 3:05 showing brought the Quakers to within two of the Ravens, 69-67. Jalen Johnson and Chainey Zolman traded 3-point buckets to advance the score to 72-70 in Anderson's favor, but another trey by Knight extended the Ravens' lead to five.

Anderson held onto its lead the rest of the way, aided by a 4-for-4 effort at the free-throw line by Laffoon and layup by Knight with 48 seconds left that gave the Ravens an 81-72 lead.

The two teams traded the lead back-and-forth throughout the first half, with Earlham eventually taking the lead on a Blake Bonin 3-pointer at the 2:59 mark of the frame. That left the Quakers with a 37-36 lead, and back-to-back buckets from Zolman and Thomas Sanborn helped extend the Earlham advantage. A pair of late foul shots narrowed the margin to 43-40 in the Quakers' favor at the intermission.

Earlham extended its lead to eight points, 53-45, early in the second half following a Zolman 3-pointer, but the score remained frozen for nearly two-and-a-half minutes with neither team able to score. Knight finally broke the scoring drought with a jumper for Anderson with 14:36 to play, but Earlham managed to keep at least a one-possession lead until the final seven minutes when the Ravens made their late drive for the win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Blake Bonin finished with 13 points and a team-high five rebounds, while AJ White tallied 11 points in the second double-digit scoring performance of his career. Kenneth Stalling Jr. came off the bench with nine points.

Earlham shot 50.9 percent (28-of-55) from the floor, its fifth .500-or-better shooting performance this season. The Quakers also their 10th game with 10-or-more 3-point field goals with a 10-of-20 effort from long range versus the Ravens.

Anderson had three players in double figures, led by Malik Laffoon and Maurice Knight with 29 and 26 points respectively.

WHAT'S NEXT

Earlham men's basketball returns home on Wednesday, Feb. 5, when it hosts Transylvania in the second game of a doubleheader with the Pioneers. Tip-off is slated for approximately 7:30 p.m., after the conclusion of the women's game which starts at 5:30 p.m.