ANDERSON, S.C. - Anderson senior Chris Ross' basket with 3.4 seconds left in the game lifted Anderson past Limestone, 87-85, in nonconference men's basketball action, Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.

"I am really happy for the team," said Anderson head coach Jason Taylor. "I am proud of them for finding a way to win. We just have to keep working hard and I know this group will do just that."

Anderson (3-5) opened a three-game nonconference homestand with the victory, which marked the Trojans' first home win of the season and second in its last three outings. Limestone slipped to 2-5 on the season with its second consecutive loss and fell to the Trojans for the first time in four meetings.

Ross' game-winner was set up by a tenacious Anderson defensive stand that forced a Saints' turnover with 16.9 seconds on the clock and gave the Trojans their first lead since the 15:01 mark of the second half. The Saints' Justin Crowder, who finished the game with 17 points, including five 3-pointers, nearly banked in a trey at the buzzer that would have given the visitors the win.

Ross finished with a season-high 17 points, while senior guard DJ McGowan added 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and pulled down five rebounds. Freshman guard Tre' Fields tossed in a career-high 11 points off the bench.

Sophomore Shaq Dance led four Saints in double figures with a game-high 27 points, with senior Assad Woods notching 21 points. Crowder finished with 17 points, while freshman Walter Cole posted 14 points for Limestone.

The contest was tied seven times on the night, including three times inside the opening three minutes of the game. Ross snapped an early 6-6 deadlock with a traditional three-point play at the 16:02 mark that ignited a 7-0 run by the Trojans over the next minute. McGowan followed with a steal and a dunk and added a jumper to give AU a 13-6 advantage.

Although the Saints trimmed the Trojan lead to one possession several times throughout the opening half, Anderson held the advantage until suffering a scoring drought over the final two minutes of the frame, allowing Limestone to turn a four-point deficit into a 39-38 lead at intermission on a pair of free throws from Woods. The score marked Limestone's first lead of the contest.

Coming out of the break, the Trojans battled back to knot the score at 42 apiece on Steven Faust's close jumper and the lead changed hands four times inside the next two minutes. Crowder's 3-pointer with 14:36 remaining in the contest gave the Saints a 51-50 edge, with Limestone steadily building an eight-point lead.

With the Saints holding a 69-61 cushion at the 8:03 mark, Anderson began to chip away and Ross' short jumper evened the score at 74-74 with 3:11 left. Limestone quickly countered with a 6-1 surge to reclaim a five-point edge, but the Trojans continued to stay within striking distance by matching the Saints on the scoreboard.

McGowan's traditional three-point play pulled AU within one possession, at 80-78, and after Woods connected on 1-of-2 from the line, Trojan redshirt senior Nick Jackson drained a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to 81-80 with 41.5 seconds left.

With AU trailing and sending Limestone to the free throw line, the Saints' Sommy Ogukwe capitalized by connecting on four straight free throws to give Limestone an 85-82 advantage with 38.9 ticks remaining. Trojan senior Myson Jones nailed a clutch 3-pointer with just more than 30 seconds remaining to knot the score for the final time of the night and following a 30-second timeout by the Saints, the AU defense forced the crucial turnover.

Following the Limestone miscue, AU called a timeout to set up the final moments and with Ross backing down inside the paint and putting up the short jumper, the Saints' defense was whistled for goaltending. Trailing by two, Limestone then called a timeout, with Crowder nearly draining the basket at the buzzer.

Anderson continues its homestand on Saturday when Georgia College invades the Abney Center for a 4 p.m. tip-off.