GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Paced by senior Trey Britton's team-high 12 points, the Anderson men's basketball team wrapped up its brief two-game South Atlantic Conference road swing by outpacing Tusculum, 55-51, Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.
Anderson (11-6, 5-2 SAC) claimed its fourth win in the last five
outings and snapped the Pioneers' three-game win streak, as
Tusculum fell to 7-10 overall and 4-3 in the league.
After Tusculum pulled within two points, Britton answered with an
acrobatic jumper with 25.4 seconds remaining to set the final
margin.
The opening half featured eight lead changes and three ties as
neither team was able to build more than a four point lead in the
opening frame, with AU holding a 23-22 edge going into the locker
room.
A slam by Britton and two free throws from Denzail Jones gave the
Trojans a 38-31 cushion with 9:05 remaining, but the Pioneers
answered with a 5-0 run to climb back within 38-36 with 7:12 left
on the clock.
Anderson countered with a 11-5 outburst, as Brandon Young converted a three-point play and later connected on a 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring to boost AU's to its largest lead of the night at 49-41 with 3:15 remaining.
Anderson shot 51.2 percent on the night, including 11-of-19 (57.9 percent) in the second half and were a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line, while Tusculum connected on 12-of-14 from the charity stripe (85.7 percent).
Britton finished the night shooting 6-of-8 from the field and recorded a pair of blocked shots, including one on a Tusculum lay-up with 14 seconds remaining to help preserve the win. Brandon Young tallied 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers and three assists.
Tusculum's Rob Troutman posted a game-high 14 points, while
Dionte Grey and Tommy Klempin added 10 points each.
Anderson gets back in action on Saturday in the second half of a
women's/men's conference doubleheader, when the Trojans play host
to Carson-Newman. Tip-off versus the Eagles is scheduled for 4 p.m.
at the Abney Athletic Center.
