ANDERSON, S.C. - In front of a near-capacity crowd, the Anderson men's basketball team used a balanced offensive attack to outpace Brevard, 82-69, in the South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.

"We have to play better," said Anderson head coach Jason Taylor. "(Brevard) is good. We got out in transition early in the second half and Chandler (Hash) made some shots, but we had stretches where we did not stop them."

Coming off a seven-day layoff, Anderson (4-0, 1-0 SAC), posted its highest shooting accuracy of the season, at 53.4 percent. The Trojans won their fourth straight to open the season for the first time since the 2009-10 squad won four straight and eight of its first nine. AU also improved to 7-1 in home-openers under head coach Jason Taylor, while Brevard slipped to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the league.

The Tornados jumped out to an early 9-4 lead in the opening 2:40 on the strength of three 3-pointers, as guard Manzy Miller sandwiched a pair of treys around a 3-pointer from Dominique Pickett. But Anderson countered with a 15-2 run en route to taking a 19-11 advantage with 13:09 left in the first half.

Leading by six, AU sophomore guard Myles Daniel connected on two 3-pointers from the top of the circle and freshman Tony Dargan dropped in a driving, acrobatic left-handed layup, as the Trojans built their largest lead of the opening half, at 31-18.

But the Tornados stayed within striking distance and with AU holding a 35-23 lead, Brevard scored eight unanswered points over a two-minute span to close the deficit to just 35-31 with 2:33 left in the first frame. The senior duo of Chandler Hash and Kyle Sledge combined to slow the Tornado rally, with Hash dropping in four consecutive free throws and Sledge closing the first-half scoring with a short jumper to give Anderson a double-digit 41-31 halftime edge.

The six unanswered points stretched into a 21-4 outburst that extended to the 15:59 mark of the second half, as redshirt junior Chris Ross began the second half with a slam and quickly added a short jumper. Sledge, senior guard CJ Gleaton, and guard Myson Jones combined for eight points during the run that gave the Trojans a 21-point cushion, their largest of the contest.

Anderson maintained the double-digit advantage, but the Tornados chipped away and drew within 78-69 with 1:12 remaining. But redshirt freshman Lex Davis regained some breathing room for the Trojans by connecting on a 3-pointer from the corner and junior DJ McGowan set the final score by hitting 1-of-2 free throws with 19 seconds left.

The Trojans held a narrow, 30-27, rebounding advantage and forced the Tornados into 18 turnovers, while committing 13 miscues of their own on the night.

Hash led all scorers with 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. He also dished out three assists. Gleaton posted his first double-double of the season with a season-high 15 points and a career-best 10 rebounds. He also handed out a pair of assists and swiped three steals, while Ross finished with 12 points. Jones tallied eight points, three assists and three steals in 22 minutes of action.

Miller led the Tornados with 21 points, with junior forward Darius Moose adding 19 and guard Miles Leathers chipping in 10 in the night.

The Trojans open a two-game road swing beginning Saturday at Lenoir-Rhyne, with tip-off set for 6 p.m. at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium in Hickory, N.C.