ANDERSON, S.C. - With four players reaching double-figure scoring, No. 2 seed Anderson advanced to the semifinals of the 2013 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament with an 80-72 win past Catawba Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
No. 2 seed Anderson (19-8) won its fourth game in the last five outings, while defeating Catawba for the third time this season and earned its seventh consecutive win past the Indians. The Trojans advance to meet No. 3 seed Wingate in Saturday's tourney semifinals at 8 p.m. at Furman's Timmons Arena. Catawba saw its season end with a 9-18 record.
Sophomore guard Myson Jones led the Trojans with 21 points and dished out a game-high five assists, while junior Chandler Hash and forward Bo Holston each added 16 points. Junior Kyle Sledge tallied 10 points and pulled down six rebounds, with DJ McGowan recording eight points and a team-best seven rebounds.
Catawba's Tyrece Little led all scorers with 23 points and recorded a game-high 11 rebounds, while Lee Martin added 21 for the Indians. Vismantas Marijosius chipped in 11 points.
The Trojans never trailed, snapping an early 4-4 tie with eight unanswered points to take as 12-4 lead with 14:07 remaining in the first half.
Anderson edged out to a 25-14 lead on a Myson Jones 3-pointer with 8:42 on the clock, but the Indians countered with a 9-3 surge to trim the Trojan advantage to just 28-23 with more than four minutes remaining in the opening half.
Hash responded with a 3-pointer for the Trojans, and a steal and layup by McGowan pushed AU's lead back to double digits, with Anderson holding a 40-25 lead at intermission.
Catawba battled back within 59-50 midway through the second
half, but would get no closer until the final seconds, as the
Trojans answered with an 8-2 run and led 67-52 with 7:04
remaining.
