ANDERSON, S.C. - The Anderson men's basketball team halted a four-game skid by rallying for a 65-55 South Atlantic Conference victory over Coker, Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.

Anderson improved to 3-7 overall and 2-3 in the conference by extending the Cobras' losing streak to four games, while winning its second straight decision over Coker. The Cobras fell to 4-5 overall and remained winless at 0-5 in the league.

The rebounding battle was deadlocked at 33 boards apiece, while the Trojans outshot Coker, 50.0 percent to 34.5 percent. AU equaled a season high by committing 19 turnovers, but the Cobras were unable to capitalize, as the visitors converted the miscues into just 13 points.

Anderson guard Maurice Howard reached double-figures in the scoring column for the sixth straight contest by sharing game-high honors with 20 points. The sophomore also handed out a game-best four assists. Despite being hampered by early foul trouble, freshman guard Randall Shaw added 18 points, including 17 in the decisive second half. Freshman forwards Jeremy Bouton and Marquez Fisher each pulled down a team-high six rebounds.

Coker junior forward Donte Samuels netted 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds, with senior guard Trey Marshall adding 13 points. Senior forward Trey James recorded a game-high 11 rebounds.

The game featured five ties and seven lead changes, with three of the lead changes occurring in the second half. After AU's Lex Davis connected on a 3-pointer that gave the Trojans a 13-7 advantage with 11:56 left in the opening half, both teams suffered through a scoring drought of more than five minutes. Samuels snapped the drought with a short jumper, while scoring six of the Cobras' next nine points, as Coker regained a brief, 16-15, edge with just more than three minutes on the clock.

Davis answered on the other end with a jumper, with Samuels connecting on one-of-two free throws to knot the score at 17 apiece. Howard drained a pair of free throws with 9.2 seconds remaining, but Marshall netted a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Coker a 20-19 lead at halftime.

Shaw opened the second-half scoring with a traditional three-point play and the Trojans eased out to a 29-22 lead on the strength of a 10-2 surge that saw Howard drop in four points and Shaw add another trey. But the Cobras countered with a 19-7 scoring outburst of their own over the next five minutes to claim their largest lead of the game, at 43-36, with 11:50 on the clock.

Facing the seven-point deficit, the Trojans rallied behind yet another 10-2 run that was capped by Howard's short jumper that gave AU a lead it would not surrender, at 46-45, with 7:50 left to play. The Trojans put the game out of reach with a 14-5 run, fueled by Marquez Fisher's five points and included an emphatic dunk by Shaw at the 6:23 mark.

The Trojans close out the 2015 calendar year by visiting Catawba on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tip-off versus the Indians. AU then faces a 15-day layoff before returning to the Abney Center to close out its nonconference slate by playing host to Warren Wilson on Jan. 4.