TIGERVILLE, S.C. -- Using a balanced offensive attack, Anderson defeated North Greenville, 88-81, in non-conference men's basketball action Tuesday night at Hayes Gymnasium. North Greenville rolled past Toccoa Falls in the Crusader's season-opener just last night, but Anderson never trailed en route to picking up a win in their season-opener, as the Trojans' Kevis Cornwell score the game's first bucket and AU jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on Stephen Cobb's 3-pointer. The triple forced NGU head coach Chad Lister to call a 30-second timeout less than three minutes into the contest and following the break, the Crusaders pulled within three points twice as Cornwell picked up two early fouls and was forced to go to the bench. North Greenville chipped away, eventually tying the score at 15 apiece on Jonathan Bozymowski's jumper with 11:12 remaining in the opening half, but AU quickly regained the advantage on Oskars Ernstein's first trey of the night. Leading by three, 20-17, midway through the half, AU sophomore Taylor Shugart scored four of the Trojan's next five points and ignited an 11-0 run that boosted the Anderson lead back to double digits. Sophomore guard Nick Trull and senior Tony Anderson each sank a 3-pointer during the surge before NGU's Kyler Vitko snapped the AU outburst with a basket, and NGU climbed back to knot the score for the second time at 33-33 with just 2:05 on the clock. Two free throws by Tony Anderson gave AU the 35-33 halftime edge. With four different players supplying the offense, Anderson quickly rebuilt the lead to 13 points inside the 15-minute mark of the second frame. North Greenville cut the lead to 55-46 with 11:59 left in the contest, but seven was as close as the Crusaders would get in the closing moments, as each time NGU made a run, Anderson answered on the other end. "It's good to start out the season with a win," Anderson head coach Jason Taylor said. "We have to get better, though. We had a hard time keeping them off the glass at times, but we made the plays when we had to." With the win Anderson moves to 1-0 on the young season, while North Greenville falls to 1-1. Anderson shot 43.3 percent from the field, while North Greenville shot 39.4 percent and held a 38-33 advantage on the boards. Four Trojans reached double figures in the scoring column, led by junior guard Brandon Young's 20 points. Tony Anderson added 17 points in his AU debut, while Shugart and Oskars Ernsteins each tossed in 10 points. Cobb collected a team-high 10 rebounds while Shugart narrowly missed a double-double with eight boards. Anderson opens a five-game homestand on Saturday when the Trojans play host to Lander, with tip-off slated for 4 p.m. at the Abney Athletic Center. Game Stats