ANDERSON, S.C. - With five players reaching double figures in the scoring column, the Anderson men's basketball team opened its longest South Atlantic Conference homestand of the season by outpacing Newberry, 81-78, Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.

Anderson improved to 9-11 overall on the season and 5-9 in the conference, while snapping a four-game skid and earned a split of the season series with the Wolves. Newberry slipped to 14-6 overall and 8-6 in the league by dropping is fifth decision in the last six games.

The Trojans out-rebounded Newberry, 46-31, marking Anderson's second-highest advantage of the season on the boards, while the 81 points was the highest scoring output for the Trojans since knocking off Catawba, 92-63, in early January.

Senior Nick Jackson paced the Trojan attack with 16 points, while senior guard Myson Jones added 12 points and shared game-high honors by handing out four assists. Senior guard DJ McGowan came off the bench to tally 12 points and pull down seven rebounds, with senior center Chris Ross recording his second double-double of the season with 10 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Freshman Matthew McClain posted his first career double-double behind 10 points and a career-best 10 boards.

Newberry sophomore Gerald Evans led all scorers with 22 points on the strength of six 3-pointers. Freshman guard James Stepp tossed in 15 points and senior guard Demarkus Smith chipped in 11 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for the Wolves.

The game was tied just five times but featured 15 lead changes, including 12 occasions in the first half.

The Trojans' offensive explosion took some time to get on track, as Newberry scored the first six points of the contest and held Anderson without a basket until McClain buried his lone 3-pointer of the afternoon from deep in the left corner with more than three minutes gone. Evans countered with the first of his six 3-pointers to give the Wolves what turned out to be their largest lead of the contest, at 9-3, with 16:11 left in the opening half.

Three of the Trojans next four baskets came from beyond the arc, with Jackson connecting on a pair of the treys to offset 3-pointers from Newberry's Stepp and Evans, as the Wolves claimed a 15-14 edge with less than 11 minutes left in the half. Alani Adekambi's drive into the lane and layup from the right side gave the Trojans their first lead on the game, at 16-15, but the narrow advantage was brief, as Newberry answered with four straight points to reclaim a three-point lead midway through the frame.

Eight of the lead changes occurred over the final 9:11 of the first half, with neither team able to claim more than a four-point advantage during the time span. A 3-pointer from Myles Daniel gave the Trojans their final lead of the frame, at 39-38, inside the final minute of the half, but Newberry closed the half with a 5-1 surge to take a 40-44 lead to the break.

Anderson scored the first five points of the second half on a trey from Jackson and a short jumper from Ross to reclaim the lead yet again, before Newberry's Brandon Taylor and Evans sandwiched 3-pointers around anther basket from Ross to provide the Wolves with a 50-47 lead inside the 17-minute mark.

Ross dropped in another close jumper to trim the deficit to one and Tre' Fields connected on a trey to give the Trojans a lead they would not relinquish, at 52-50, as Anderson posted nine unanswered points as part of a 16-4 outburst to stake its largest lead of the game, at 65-54.

With AU still holding a double-digit 73-63 advantage at the 2:49 mark, Newberry began to whittle away at the lead, getting within five points three times and pulling within 79-75 with 6.4 seconds remaining. But the Trojans, who were 8-of-10 from the line inside the final two minutes, saw Jones drain a pair of free throws to push the lead to 81-75, with Evans nailing a long-range 3-pointer at the buzzer to set the final score.

After claiming their eighth win in nine meetings with the Wolves, the Trojans continue their three-game homestand by playing host to Tusculum on Wednesday in the first meeting of the season between the two teams. Tip-off versus the Pioneers is slated for 8 p.m. at the Abney Center.