ANDERSON, S.C. – Visiting Carson-Newman scorched the nets Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center, as the Eagles connected on 34-of-54 from the field (63 percent), including 15-of-26 from beyond the arc, en route to claiming a 96-70 win over the Trojans in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action.
Anderson slipped to 13-11 overall and 7-9 in the conference, while Carson-Newman improved to 13-10 and 6-9 with its' second straight win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Seniors Gage Ellis and Jeremy Bouton shared team-high scoring honors with 16 points apiece, while classmate Andrew Boynton netted 12 points. Senior guard Randall Shaw added 10 points, with junior point guard Shawn Benard handing out a game-high seven assists and swiping four steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
After Carson-Newman scored the first six points of the contest, the Trojans battled back to claim a 9-8 edge and led again, 11-10, moments later, but the Eagles used a 17-5 scoring run to build a double-digit, 30-18, lead with 4:42 left in the first half and held a 43-31 advantage at halftime.
Second Half
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Shaw and Ellis to open the second half trimmed the Carson-Newman cushion to single digits, at 46-37, but it was as close as the Trojans would get, as the Eagles built a 26-point lead midway through the second stanza.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Trojans scored 15 points off Carson-Newman turnovers, while the Eagles scored just two points off five AU miscues.
NOTABLES
• The Trojans have dished out double-figure assists in 13 of their last 14 games.
• Jeremy Bouton is 15 points away from becoming the 14th player in program history to score at least 1,000 career points.
• The Trojans have dropped eight straight decisions to Carson-Newman.
• Carson-Newman connected on 15 treys – the most by an opponent this season.
UP NEXT
Coker invades the Abney Athletic Center on Saturday looking to earn a sweep of the regular-season series with the Trojans after defeating AU, 83-72, on Jan. 5 in Hartsville. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
