Anderson holds off Liberty Christian in clash of ranked boys basketball teams

ANDERSON — Crosstown rivals Anderson and Liberty Christian have each been the beneficiary of the new IHSAA offseason transfer rule.

It was clear Saturday that Anderson’s newcomer was more comfortable in his second outing than in his debut Tuesday in a loss to Pendleton Heights.

Sophomore Manu Jackson, a transfer from Marion, poured in a career-high 24 points, while senior point guard Collin Lewis scored eight of his 18 points at key moments of the fourth quarter. The 4A 10th-ranked Anderson held off 1A third-ranked Liberty Christian 64-59 before a capacity crowd on a snowy night on Phil Buck Court.

After dropping its first game against a Madison County opponent since 2021 on Tuesday, Anderson improved to 1-1 while the Lions are 0-1.

After their 25-game win streak against county foes was ended Tuesday, the Tribe did not want to drop a second straight and start 0-2 for the first time under coach Don Bowling, who also picked up his 199th career win Saturday evening.

“First off, I want to give hats off to Norman (Liberty Christian coach Norman Anderson) and Liberty. They have a great team,” Bowling said. “It’s early in the season, it could have went either way. ... Luckily, they missed more shots than us.”

Early in Saturday's game, Liberty Christian’s newcomer was making the bigger impact.

Senior Monte Dillard, a 6-foot-7 transfer from Evanston, Illinois, was making his presence felt defensively and on the glass. Finishing with 15 rebounds and four blocks — both game-high totals — he helped spark an early Lions surge.

Junior Tywaine Fuller scored four points during a game-opening six-point Liberty run and a later transition layup gave the Lions a 17-11 first-quarter lead. Jordan Haralson matched that Lions advantage with three free throws at 20-14.

But Lewis scored four straight points on a layup and a pair of free throws to pull Anderson within two points to close the period.

Dillard pulled down eight rebounds in the first quarter alone for the Lions, who missed opportunities to take advantage of his size on the offensive end.

“Anderson did a great job. Manu got hot early and Anderson fed him,” Anderson said. “I don’t think we went to Monte as much as we should and as much as we talked about. He didn’t get the touches, and that’s on my guards.”

While they trailed, Jackson was already off to a hot start for the Indians with 11 first-quarter points. Early in the second quarter, he gave Anderson its first lead at 22-21 with a basket in the lane at the 7:00 mark.

A Haralson three-pointer and a Kendrick Martin layup put Liberty back on top 26-22. But Raymond Bowling scored on a driving basket to start an 11-0 run that put Anderson on top for good. A Jackson dunk in transition built the lead to 10 before Martin and Fuller scored late to pull the Lions within five at halftime.

It was clear that Jackson was more in the flow of the Anderson offense in his second outing.

“It took getting used to the playing style of Anderson,” he said. “I’m new here, so I had to get used to it, bounce back and get the win.”

Martin, who scored 15 for the Lions, opened the second half with a driving basket to get the Lions within three points.

Anderson was able to keep the Lions at arm’s length the rest of the way and the Lions could get no closer, mostly due to the play of Lewis down the stretch.

Liberty closed to within five points four times during the fourth quarter.

First Lewis got to the rim for a 59-52 lead, then hit a pair of free throws for a 61-54 lead. When Martin hit a three-pointer to get the Lions within 62-57, Malek Jones converted two free throws for the Indians. Lewis added a steal and a rebound in the closing moments to help seal the Anderson win.

“One thing we knew about Liberty, they’ll turn you over,” coach Bowling said. “I think having Collin helped neutralize that.”

Anderson committed just 10 turnovers in the game, compared to 13 by the Lions.

Anderson’s Don Bowling III scored nine points in the first half, but he left the game with symptoms of a concussion.

Fuller led the Lions with 19 points, while Haralson scored 10 and Dillard finished with eight.

Anderson will play next Saturday at Fort Wayne Northrup, while the Lions will play at Indianapolis Shortridge on Tuesday night.