Anderson University’s magical season came to an abrupt halt on Saturday night (March 14) as the number one seed in the Division II Men’s Basketball Southeast Region was upset by the eighth seeded Young Harris College Mountain Lions of Young Harris, Ga., by a score of 72-69.
Anderson won both the regular season and the conference tournament of the South Atlantic Conference and were ranked seventh in the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll. It was the first conference tournament championship in school history. The Trojans also won a record 29 games while losing only three.
Anderson served as host of the Southeast Region. Their loss at home was the first for the Trojans since February of 2025.
The Trojans got off to a slow start and trailed throughout the first half. Anderson shot 50 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from the three-point line, but Young Harris shot even better, 55.6 percent from both the field and three-point line. They made five of nine three-point shots In the first half.
Jimmie Williams, head basketball coach for Anderson University gives last minute instructions before the second half of their first round game in the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship against Young Harris College.
The main difference was rebounding. Normally a strong rebounding team, Anderson was outrebounded 18-9 in the first half. In addition, Young Harris grabbed seven offensive rebounds compared to only three for Anderson.
Anderson had a balanced scoring attack in the first half. Caleb McAbee led the way with eight points, followed by Andre Wright Jr. and Kadyn Dawkins with seven each. Osmar Garcia contributed six points. The team’s leading scorer, freshman Rashawn Inglemon, who averaged 17.6 points per game during the seaon and was the SAC freshman of the year, was held to just two points in the first half.
The Mountain Lions were led in the first half by Justin Payne with 13 points and Jalen Ware with 12 points.
A late first half surge drew the Trojans to only a five-point deficit at halftime, 40-35.
Both teams started slowly in the second half before Anderson went on a run to cut the lead to 42-40 at the under 16 minute media timeout. Young Harris maintained the lead until Anderson’s Kaden Dawkins drilled a three-point shot to give Anderson a 49-48 lead with 11:23 to go in the second half.
The teams traded buckets and with less than eight minutes left in the game, Young Harris regained the lead, 52-50.
The Trojans cut the lead to 62-60 with three minutes to go but the Mountain Lions’ Justin Payne hit a three-pointer to increase the lead back to five points. Anderson pulled within one point, 65-64 with 1:39 remaining. Nineteen seconds later, Sentinel Moore hit a free throw to tie the game at 65.
With 36 seconds left, Justin Payne of Young Harris was fouled while attempting a three-point shot. The shot missed but he made all three free throws to give his team a three-point lead with 35 seconds to go.
Refusing to give up, Anderson’s Garcia grabbed an offensive rebound and put it in the hoop to cut the lead to one point with seconds remaining. Anderson immediately fouled Payne and he sank two clutch free throws, giving the Mountain Lions a three-point lead with 3.9 seconds left. Anderson launched a desperation three-point shot but it bounced off the rim.
Dawkins and Garcia led the comeback attempt with 21 and 16 points respectively while Payne led the Mountain Lions with 27 points.
As in the first half, Anderson was beaten on the boards throughout the second half. Young Harris grabbed 38 rebounds, including 15 on the offensive side, compared to 23 rebounds (nine on the offensive board) for Anderson
Senior guard Kadyn Dawkins of the Anderson University Trojans answers post game questions from the media and head coach Jimmie Williams looks on. Dawkins led the team with 21 points in a three point upset loss to Young Harris College.
Anderson head coach Jimmie Williams addressed the media following the game. “I’m really proud of what this team accomplished this year. We didn’t have it tonight.”
Williams pointed out that the team won 29 games and the school’s first conference tournament championship in addition to the regular season championship by three games. “What a joy to coach this group of guys,” he said.
