ANDERSON, S.C. - With five players reaching double figures, Newberry defeated Anderson, 104-82, in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action, Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
Anderson suffered its sixth consecutive setback and slipped to 5-14 overall and 3-10 in conference action, while Newberry moved to 12-8 overall and 7-7 in the league by sweeping the season series and snapping a two-game losing streak.
Anderson guard Randall Shaw led all scorers with 28 points, while sophomore guard Tre' Fields added 15 points off the bench. Sophomore guard Maurice Howard chipped in 14 points, with junior center Rakish Taylor tallying eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Newberry had five players score in double figures, led by Brandon Taylor, who scored 23 points. Ronell Crockett added 15 points and seven rebounds, while Xavier Holmes scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds. Mason Spease scored 14 points with six boards and Mitch Riggs notched 12 points.
The Wolves held a 44-39 rebounding advantage, with the Trojans outscoring Newberry by a 40-32 margin in the paint. The visitors shot 50 percent from the field, while AU posted a 45.6 shooting percentage.
The contest, which featured five ties and eight lead changes in the first 14 minutes of action, saw Newberry snap an early 9-9 deadlock with six consecutive points, while the Trojans countered with six unanswered points of their own to even the score at 15 apiece on back-to-back 3-pointers from Shaw and Fields with 13:07 left in the opening half.
Following another seven minutes of action, neither team was unable to gain an advantage, as the score was knotted for the fifth and final time, at 30-30 with 6:28 left in the opening half. But the Wolves closed the half with a 20-8 scoring outburst to take a 50-38 lead at halftime.
Newberry steadily built a 67-47 advantage with just less than 15 minutes left and claimed their largest lead of the game, at 83-52, midway through the second half.
Anderson goes on the road for a brief one-game road swing at
Queens University of Charlotte on Monday in a game that was
rescheduled from last Saturday. Tip-off versus the Royals is slated
for 8 p.m.
