Jake Anderson seemed a little surprised Saturday when a reporter wanted to interview him after Mount Mercy rolled by Oak Hills Christian College, 103-38, in a mismatch at the Hennessey Recreation Center.

Then Anderson was shown a copy of the final boxscore.

"What? I had 19 rebounds?," he exclaimed. "That's crazy."

The 6-foot-6 sophomore from Mexico, Mo., grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and nine defensive caroms in the game. He also scored 12 points in his first extensive action of the year.

There were some extenuating circumstances that contributed to Anderson's performance. First of all, Oak Hills is not very good (a 1-8 record) and not very big.

Secondly, all of the returning players from last year's team at Mount Mercy have to miss five games this season due to an infraction of school rules that occurred at the NAIA national tournament last March. In addition, a few of the Mustangs are nursing injuries and did not play Saturday.

Anderson suffered a concussion in practice on Friday, Nov. 21 and missed a ballgame the next day, and overall he had appeared in only one game for a total of three minutes this season prior to Saturday.

"I'm just happy that Coach gave me an opportunity to play," he said.

Anderson and his twin brother, Jon, transferred to Mount Mercy from Mobley Community College this year and will have three years of eligibility with the Mustangs. Jon Anderson did not play Saturday, but Jake showed what he can do.

"He's obviously very long and very athletic," said Mount Mercy Coach Aaron Jennings. "He jumps very well, runs very hard. We're just continuing to work on all the skills."

Anderson hopes to work his way into the rotation for the Mustangs.

"I feel like I was pretty close, and last Friday I got a concussion. So I'm just coming off the concussion," he said. "Hopefully now that I'm back I can get back into the swing of things again."

Anderson snared his 19 rebounds in 22 minutes. The school record for most rebounds in a single game is 25.

CJ Parker led a balanced attack for the 15th-ranked Mustangs with 15 points. Tre Wagner scored 14, Anderson 12, Chris Ford 11 and DiMarco Mallett 11. Mount Mercy enjoyed a whopping 66-26 advantage in rebounding.

The competition will get a lot stiffer for the Mustangs Sunday when they host 11th-ranked St. Francis of Illinois at 5 p.m. in a battle of NAIA powers.

"Tomorrow is completely different," said Jennings. "They're big, they're strong, they move the ball well. Our defense is going to have to be much better than what it's been."

Mount Mercy (5-1) is averaging 94.2 points, but the Mustangs were allowing 89.0 points per game prior to Saturday's victory.

"We have to be able to get stops, we have to be able to hold people to 70-75 points," said Jennings. "I think offensively we can do a lot of nice things, but if you don't get stops you don't give yourself a chance."

OAK HILLS (38): Peterson 0 0-0 0, Tyrone 1 1-1 3, Dragt 0 1-2 1, Cook 1 2-6 4, Barrientos 0 0-0 0, Calverley 0 0-0 0, Diehm 4 2-2 13, Wolfe 3 0-0 9, Guthrie 4 0-0 8. Totals 13 6-11 38.

MOUNT MERCY (103): Wagner 4 3-4 14, Ford 5 0-1 11, Parker 5 4-4 15, Villagrana 2 0-0 5, Julien 2 0-0 5, Frazier 1 0-0 3, Brawner-Henley 1 0-0 2, Mallett 5 1-1 11, Koeppel 1 2-2 5, Blohm 1 5-7 7, Brown 20-0 4, Jake Anderson 6 0-0 12, Allen 4 1-2 9. Totals 39 16-21 103.

Halftime - Mount Mercy 59, Oak Hills 15. 3-point goals - Oak Hills 6 (Diehm 3, Wolfe 3), Mount Mercy 9 (Wagner 3, Ford 1, Parker 1, Villagrana 1, Julien 1, Frazier 1, Koeppel 1).