ST. AUGUSTINE – Flagler College nearly let a 21-point second half lead dissolve away, but managed to weather a furious comeback by Anderson University for a 70-66 win Sunday night in the PBC-SAC Challenge at Flagler Gymnasium.

Flagler evened its record at 1-1 while Anderson's loss also evened its record at 1-1. Queens University of Charlotte (2-0) edged Armstrong State University (0-2) 83-82 in the other game on Sunday.

A Nick Grier jumper with 7:37 left to go in the game gave the Saints a seemingly comfortable 62-41 lead. Grier's jumper capped a 24-14 run by Flagler to open the second half. But a Shawn Benard layup ignited a 21-2 run by the Trojans over the next 5:03 to get Anderson back in the game. Lex Davis had a pair of driving layups with 2:18 left in the game to get Anderson to within a basket (64-62). The Trojans shot 70% (7-10) from the field in that run while the Saints missed all five of their shots from the field, including four 3-pointers, and also turned the ball over four times which led to seven more Trojan points.  

Flagler freshman guard Vaughn McCall put an abrupt end to the Trojan run with a pair of back-breaking jumpers to give Flagler enough breathing room, 68-62, with 1:14 left to go. McCall finished the game with 15 points.
 
Matt Clark led the Saints in scoring for the second night in a row. He tallied 18 points and he dished out a game-high five assists. Kessler Bell recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Bell also blocked two shots.

Flagler shot 48.3% from the floor in the first half which helped the Saints take a 38-27 lead into the break. But the shooting cooled off in the second half where Flagler was contained to 38.5% from the field.

Randall Shaw led the Trojans for the second straight night as he deposited 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field. He led Anderson with 31 last night against Armstrong State University. Rakish Taylor recorded a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Benard scored 12 points coming off of the bench.

Flagler will head west to participate in Western Washington University's Chuck Randall Classic next weekend in Bellingham. The Saints open with the host Vikings, a traditional power in the Northwest, on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Pacific (10:30 p.m. Eastern).