TIGERVILLE, S.C. - The guard duo of senior Denzail Jones and junior Chandler Hash combined for 61 points, as Anderson defeated North Greenville, 89-76, in nonconference men's basketball action Wednesday night at Hayes Gymnasium.
Anderson improved to 5-1 on the season with its fifth consecutive victory and claimed its sixth straight win past the Crusaders. North Greenville dropped its third decision the last four contests and fell to 3-3 on the season.
Jones erupted for 23 second-half points en route to a season-high 37 on the night, while Hash added 16 points in the decisive final half and equaled his career-high with 24 for the game. In the Trojans first road game of the year, AU shot just 35.5 percent in the opening half, but scorched the nets in the second half, connecting on 21-of-32 (65.6 percent) from the field. Forward Bo Holston added 11 points and narrowly missed his first double-double for the Black and Gold, recording a season-high eight rebounds.
Senior Tyshawn Patterson and Jimmy Ellis each scored 17 points to lead the Crusaders, with junior Keith Johnson netting 15 and guard Chris Dean chipping in 13 points. Sophomore forward Phillip Brown tossed in nine points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
The game featured five lead changes, with four occurring in the opening six minutes of action. With the score tied at 23 apiece with just less than eight minutes left in the first half, the Crusaders went on a 12-2 run over the next six minutes to claim their largest lead of the contest, at 35-25, with 1:50 left in the half. Patterson tossed in five points during the surge, with Brown adding four.
Hash countered with his second 3-pointer of the contest and Jones dropped in a pair of free throws as AU closed out the half with five unanswered points to set the halftime deficit at 35-30.
Anderson chipped away at the North Greenville advantage and took its first lead since the 7:57 mark of the first half, 44-42, on Jones' third 3-pointer with 15:28 on the clock. Hash boosted the cushion to five with another trey just 46 seconds later, but again the Crusaders answered with an 8-2 run to take a brief 50-49 edge.
A steal and slam by sophomore guard DJ McGowan with 10:52 remaining snapped a 52-52 tie and gave the Trojans the lead for the remainder of the contest. North Greenville stayed close, with AU unable to gain more than a seven-point lead until inside the final minute.
Anderson returns to the friendly confines of the Abney Center on
Saturday, as the Trojans play host to Georgia College. Tip-off
versus the Bobcats is slated for 4 p.m.
