ANDERSON, S.C. - The Anderson men's basketball team shot a season-low from long range and Mars Hill scored 25 points off turnovers, as Mars Hill outlasted Anderson, 82-75, in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
Mars Hill (8-12, 5-7 SAC) won its third consecutive game and earned a split in the season series with the Trojans, while Anderson (14-8, 8-4 SAC) had its win streak stopped at three games.
AU jumped out to an early 10-5 lead, but four turnovers in the next two minutes stalled the Trojans' offense and allowed the Lions to take a brief 14-10 lead with just over 13 minutes left in the first half.
Anderson junior center Taylor Shugart responded with three of his game-high 20 points on an old-fashioned three-point play and guard Nick Trull dropped in a layup to regain a 15-14 edge for AU. The Trojans pushed out to a pair of three-point leads midway through the half, but Mars Hill stayed within striking distance and went on a 12-2 run to claim its largest lead of the frame, 30-23, with 5:30 remaining.
The Lions took a 39-34 advantage into intermission, but the Trojans came out of the break with a 10-3 outburst to claim a brief two-point lead at the 17:21 mark. However, Mars Hill pushed out to another seven-point lead midway through the final half, before Anderson battled back to take its final lead of the contest, 58-57, with 7:23 remaining.
Mars Hill countered by garnering a 70-62 advantage with less than three minutes on the clock, but the Trojans rallied within 76-73 on a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner by Trey Britton with 1:02 left. AU misfired on two shots and committed a turnover in its next three possessions, while the Lions connected on 4-of-6 from the free throw line in the final moments to hold off the Trojans.
Anderson connected on just 5-of-28 (17.9 percent) from beyond the arc, but out-rebounded Mars Hill 47-31 on the night.
Shugart narrowly missed his third double-double of the season by pulling down a game-high nine rebounds, while Britton added 15 points. Brandon Young and Denzail Jones each netted 10 points.
Anderson opens a two-game conference road swing at Newberry on
Wednesday, with tip-off versus the Wolves scheduled for 8 p.m. at
Eleazer Arena.