NEWBERRY, S.C. - The Anderson men's basketball team erased nearly all of a 17-point first half deficit as Randall Shaw and Maurice Howard combined for 47 points, but Newberry held on to hand the Trojans their fourth consecutive setback, 81-73, in South Atlantic Conference play Saturday afternoon at Eleazer Arena.

Anderson fell to 2-7 overall and 1-3 in conference play, while Newberry improved to 7-3 overall and 2-2 in the league with its fourth win in five outings.

Shaw led all players with 24 points, including 17 in the second half, as the freshman guard scored nine straight and 11-of-13 points for the Trojans during one stretch early in the second half. He also recorded three rebounds and three steals on the afternoon. Howard added a career-high 23 points, including 16 in the second frame, while also pulling down a career-high eight rebounds and handing out three assists. Sophomore Tre' Fields scored nine points and equaled a season-high with five rebounds.

Senior forward Xavier Holmes paced the Wolves' offense with 23 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, with teammate Brandon Taylor posting 12 points and senior Mitch Riggs garnering 10 points.

A slow start by the Trojans proved costly, as Shaw dropped in one-of-two free throws less than 15 seconds into the contest to open the scoring and give the Trojans their only lead of the afternoon. Newberry countered by jumping out to a double-digit, 17-6, advantage with more than 13 minutes left in the first half.

Less than two minutes later, redshirt freshman Marquez Fisher's layup pulled the Trojans within 21-11, but Newberry steadily built a 38-21 advantage - its largest lead of the game - over the next four minutes. But the Trojans continued to battle and scored the final four points of the opening half to pull within 47-35 at halftime.

The Trojans' run continued into the second half, as AU posted its 14th consecutive point to get as close as 47-44 with 16:41 left in the game. Junior Lex Davis opened the second half with a layup, while Shaw followed with back-to-back layups and a 3-pointer to fuel the outburst. After Holmes dropped in a layup at the 16:07 mark for the Wolves' first points of the second half, Brandon Taylor added a 3-pointer to push Newberry's lead back to 52-44 with less than 15 minutes on the clock.

Shaw countered with a pair of free throws and Howard's layup pulled AU within four, but the Black and Gold would get no closer until Shaw's basket with 8:47 on the clock sparked a 9-3 run to trim the deficit to just 66-64 more than five minutes remaining. However, the Wolves responded with eight unanswered points to reopen a double-digit 74-64 cushion with 2:19 remaining.

With the Trojans forced to foul, Newberry was just 4-of-8 from the line inside the final minute, but AU was unable to capitalize, with the Trojans connecting on just two of five attempts from the field while Brandon Taylor netted two free throws with two seconds on the clock to set the final score.

The Trojans return to the friendly confines of the Abney Athletic Center for a brief one-game South Atlantic Conference homestand on Wednesday, as Coker visits the Upstate. Tip-off versus the Cobras is slated for 8 p.m.