ANDERSON, S.C. - Aiming for its fourth NCAA postseason berth in the last five years, the Anderson men's basketball team has released its 2013-14 schedule, highlighted by five games versus three teams that made an appearance in last season's NCAA Tournament.

The Trojans' slate will feature a balanced 28-game lineup, with 15 road contests and 13 games in the friendly confines of the Abney Athletic Center, where AU has posted an impressive 47-10 record over the past four seasons, including five wins past nationally-ranked teams.

AU will blend its extended 22-game South Atlantic Conference slate with six nonconference contests, including four games versus Peach Belt Conference opponents and one each against a Conference Carolinas and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association foe.

"The schedule is definitely challenging," said Anderson head coach Jason Taylor. "I don't think we've ever had a more difficult schedule and hopefully it will help us become the best team we can possibly be."

For the 12th time in the last 15 seasons, Anderson will open the season on the road, as AU begins the campaign with a three-game road swing, including two contests at the PBC-SAC Challenge, hosted by Georgia Regents University - Augusta, formerly Augusta State, on Nov. 9-10 at Christenberry Fieldhouse. The Trojans have fond memories of Christenberry, as AU earned its' first-ever trip to the NCAA's Elite Eight with a win in the 2011 NCAA Southeast Region Championship in their last contest at the site.

The Black and Gold open the tourney by facing Lander, which posted a 9-17 overall record last season, including a 4-15 mark in Peach Belt action. The matchup marks the first meeting between the two programs since AU defeated the Bearcats 93-84 in the second game of the 2009-10 season at the Abney Center.

The Trojans wrap up their appearance in the event by squaring off against host GRU - Augusta for the first time since the Trojans upset the top-seeded and nationally third-ranked Jaguars, 75-73, in overtime in the finals of the 2011 NCAA Southeast Regional en route to earning the Elite Eight appearance.

GRU - Augusta, a perennial challenger for a postseason berth, has made an appearance in five of the last seven NCAA Tournaments, including three Elite Eights. The Jags ended last season with an uncharacteristic 14-13 record, but are expected to return four starters from last year's squad.

With five of their first six contests on the road, the path doesn't get any easier for the Trojans, as they visit rival Erskine on Tuesday, Nov. 12. AU will be looking to avenge an 87-72 setback to the Flying Fleet suffered in last year's season-opener for the Trojans. The Fleet won eight of their first 10 contests a year ago en route to earning the most victories since joining NCAA Division II in 1992 and finished with an 18-10 record after falling to Limestone in the semifinals of the Conference Carolinas Tournament.

"Lander will be talented, well-coached and will give us difficulty because of their style of play. I expect both Lander and GRU-Augusta to be picked toward the top of their division in the Peach Belt and GRU could very well be ranked in the top-25 with their combination of returners and newcomers," added Taylor. "We won't play anyone more talented than GRU and Erskine will probably be the preseason number one, two or three in Conference Carolinas and will be very tough this year. It should be another exciting game down there."

"With those three games in four days, we will find out exactly where we are at that point in time. We'll find out what we need to work on and how far off we are from where we want to be."

Following an eight-day layoff, Anderson jumps quickly into South Atlantic Conference action, with five consecutive league matchups in less than four weeks. The Trojans' home-opener is slated for Wednesday, Nov. 20, as AU plays host to Brevard at the Abney Athletic Center. Anderson swept the Tornados last season and has claimed wins in three of the last four meetings with Brevard, which went 4-22 a year ago, narrowly missing a berth in the conference tournament.

The stretch of conference contests continues with games at Lenoir-Rhyne (Nov. 23) and at Lincoln Memorial (Nov. 26), before the Trojans return home to host Wingate on Wednesday, Dec. 4, and the high-powered Newberry offense on Dec. 7. L-R (18-9, 11-7 SAC) finished fifth in the SAC standings a year ago, with Carson-Newman ending the Bears' season in the quarterfinals of the conference tourney.

LMU (25-6) was ranked as high as 10th nationally a year ago before finishing at No. 13 in the coaches' poll, and earned its third straight bid to the NCAA Tournament with the No. two seed in the regional tournament, before falling to third-seeded Barton in the second round of the tourney. Wingate (22-9, 14-4 SAC) claimed its second straight conference tournament title last season with its win past LMU and advanced to the Southeast Regional semifinals before being eliminated by host USC Aiken. Newberry, which dropped an 83-77 decision at Wingate in the quarterfinals of the SAC Tournament, concluded its season with a 14-13 record.

"It'll be a difficult travel schedule," added the eighth-year head coach. "Going to a 22-game conference schedule will be a challenge. We play four of last year's top six teams right off the bat. It will be tough. We want to do well in the conference and we don't put any more importance on any one game more than we do another."

Anderson closes out the month of December with three consecutive nonconference games, with the first two encounters coming against another pair of teams from the Peach Belt Conference. The Trojans travel to Milledgeville, Ga. to face Georgia College on Dec. 16 and two days later will square off against Young Harris at the Abney Center. Winston Salem State (Dec. 18) is Anderson's final nonconference matchup of the season, as the Rams invade the Abney Center for a Wednesday night contest.

Georgia College wrapped up last season with a 9-17 overall record and a 5-14 Peach Belt Conference mark, falling at home to Armstrong Atlantic State in the season finale, while fellow PBC member Young Harris notched a second-place finish in the league's West Division with an overall mark of 17-9 and 12-7 in the conference. The Mountain Lions are on track to earn full NCAA membership in time for the 2014-15 academic year and are not eligible for participation in any PBC Championships until they become a full-fledged member of NCAA Division II.

Winston Salem State, ranked 16th nationally, finished second in the Southern Division of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association a year ago with a 13-3 record and earned its third consecutive appearance in the NCAA D-II Regionals with the No. two seed in the Atlantic Region Tournament. The Rams were edged, 69-67, by seventh-seeded Slippery Rock in the opening round and finished the season at 21-7.

The Trojans open the New Year by resuming conference play with a brief one-game road swing at Catawba (Jan. 4), then play host to Lincoln Memorial (Jan. 8) and Coker on Jan. 11. The Cobras, along with Queens University of Charlotte, are newcomers to the league, but familiar to AU since the three were members of Conference Carolinas until the Trojans moved to the SAC for the 2010-11 campaign. The Cobras were 13-14 overall and 10-10 in Conference Carolinas and will look to Second-Team All-Conference selection Julian Nelson to lead the squad after leading the team with 17.2 points per game last season.

Anderson travels to Mars Hill for a mid-week contest on Jan. 15 and faces Lenoir-Rhyne for the second time of the season on Saturday, Jan. 18 when the Bears visit the Abney Center for a Saturday afternoon contest.

Following a trip to Brevard, Anderson squares off against Queens for the first time since the 2010 season, when both were members of Conference Carolinas. Queens fell to Belmont Abbey in the quarterfinals of the league tournament last season, finishing with a 15-12 record.

The matchup versus the Royals marks the halfway point of the conference slate for the Trojans, with AU facing Carson-Newman for the first time of the season on Jan. 29 at the Abney Center. The Eagles posted a 20-8 record last season after falling to top-seeded LMU in the semifinals of the SAC Tournament.

"Just like every season, what I'm most looking forward to is the challenge," concluded Taylor. "We have to be at our best for every game in order to give ourselves an opportunity to win. This schedule will enable us to know exactly where we are. I like the fact that we have to be very good in our preparations - our guys have to be focused."

The 2013 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament will feature the top eight teams in the league squaring off on Wednesday, March 5 at the home sites of the four top seeds, with the tournament semifinals and championship slated to be held on Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9, at Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C. for the second consecutive year. Anderson is the designated host school for the event for the first time since joining the SAC for the 2010-11 season.