BREVARD, N.C. - Brevard saw five players reach double figures in the scoring column, as the Tornados held off a second-half rally by Anderson and claimed a 78-70 South Atlantic Conference win over the Trojans, Wednesday night at Boshamer Gymnasium.

Anderson fell to 6-19 overall and 4-15 in the conference with the setback and if Tusculum earns a victory at Carson-Newman, the Trojans will be eliminated from earning a berth in next month's conference tournament. Brevard improved to 5-20 overall and 4-15 in league play, while winning won two of its last three decisions and avenging an earlier seven-point loss at the hands of the Trojans.

Freshman guard Randall Shaw led the Trojans with 18 points on the night, including 14 in the second half, with sophomore guard Maurice Howard netting 17 points and dishing out four assists. Sophomore guard Tre' Fields added 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, while junior center Rakish Taylor narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Lex Davis handed out a game-high six assists.

The Tornados claimed an early 6-4 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers and stretched their advantage to seven points less than four minutes into the contest. Davis dropped in a basket to trim Brevard's lead to 11-6, then both teams suffered a scoring drought of more than four minutes before Shaw connected on a pair of free throws and Howard dropped in a layup to pull AU within 11-10 with 10:31 left in the opening half.

Shaw added a layup less than a minute later to give the Trojans their first lead since the 18:42 mark, but the advantage was short-lived as Brevard countered with a 6-2 surge to reclaim a 17-14 lead. Taylor and guard Alex Greisen answered with back-to-back layups to give AU another brief lead, at 18-17, but the Tornados responded with 11 unanswered points to push out to a double-digit, 28-18, lead with less than two minutes remaining in the opening frame and held a 31-25 halftime advantage.

The Trojans chipped away at the deficit and knotted the score at 41-41 on a 3-pointer from Fields with 15:08 left, however Brevard posted a 12-2 scoring outburst over the next 4:36 to rebuild its double-digit cushion and the Trojans would get no closer than four the rest of the night.

With AU trailing, 59-48, Shaw scored nine consecutive points for the Black and Gold on a 3-pointer and two traditional three-point plays over a two-minute span, but the Tornados held off the threat, even after Fields sank yet another trey to pull AU within 64-60.

With the Trojans forced to foul in the final moments, the Tornados were 6-of-8 inside the final minute to seal the win.

Anderson opens its final two-game homestand of the season on Saturday, when Lenoir-Rhyne invades the Abney Center for a 4 p.m. tip-off.