ANDERSON, S.C. – With a blend of the familiar along with the new, Anderson University head men's basketball coach Jeff Brookman has released the Trojans' 2019-20 schedule.

With five new head coaches patrolling the opposing sidelines this season, Brookman's squad will open away from home for the ninth time in 12 seasons.

The fifth-year head coach has crafted a schedule that features a pair of games against a brand new opponent (UVa-Wise), a contest against a former conference rival (Belmont Abbey) and an early-season matchup against Peach Belt Conference-foe Flagler, who the Trojans haven't faced since the 2015-16 campaign.

The 28-game regular-season slate is nearly evenly balanced, featuring 13 games in the friendly confines of the Abney Athletic Center, 14 true road contests and one game at a neutral site. In addition to the grueling 22-game South Atlantic Conference schedule, the Trojans will square off against four familiar foes from Conference Carolinas and a pair of adversaries from the Peach Belt Conference.

After opening with six straight games on the road, including two contests in the Conference Challenge hosted by Flagler, Anderson plays five of its next seven contests in the Electric City, with a season-high three-game homestand highlighting the home slate in mid-December.

AU opens the season in a conference challenge for the seventh consecutive year and ninth time in the last 10 years. The Trojans have participated in a season-opening SAC-Conference Carolinas' Challenge or a SAC-Peach Belt Challenge in eight of the last nine campaigns since joining the South Atlantic Conference for the 2010-11 season and this year will be no different.

For the third consecutive season, the season-opening conference crossover event will feature Lander and Southern Wesleyan, with Flagler hosting the two-day event in St. Augustine, Fla.

"Going down to Flagler will be a good trip for us," said Brookman. "We'll get to spend a couple of days in Florida and see some quality competition. We were there four years ago and now [Flagler] is back in the rotation and hosting again this year."

Despite being separated by just 40 miles, Anderson and Lander have met just 14 times on the hardwood, with this year's season-opener (Nov. 8) marking the fourth meeting in the last seven years. Lander leads the all-time series, 10-4, with the Bearcats and new head coach Drew Richards looking to extend their win streak over the Trojans to three straight after claiming victories in each of the last two conference challenges.

Less than 24 hours later, the Trojans will square off against the host Saints for the first time since traveling to northeast Florida for the 2015-16 Conference Challenge, which was also hosted by Flagler. The Saturday afternoon matchup marks just the second meeting in school history between the Trojans and Saints, with AU looking to avenge a four-point setback in the first-ever meeting.

"The Conference Challenge gives us a chance to play against some teams we might not play [on a regular basis]," added Brookman. "We'll play two teams from the Peach Belt, which is a really strong conference. It'll give an early look to gauge who we are, what we're about and where we're going to be."

Up next for the Trojans is a visit to Tigerville, S.C., and a matchup with North Greenville (Nov. 13), which finished an uncharacteristic ninth in Conference Carolinas a year ago with an overall mark of 7-21. The contest will be just the second meeting between the two programs since the 2012-13 campaign. AU holds a 9-3 advantage in the overall series and has won seven straight decisions over the Crusaders dating back to the 2007-08 season.

The Trojans were originally scheduled to open their home slate three days later versus Limestone and new head coach Kyle Perry, but that game is now slated for Dec. 19, which gives the Trojans a six-day layoff early in the season. AU squares off against longtime rival Erskine on Nov. 20, with AU seeking its ninth victory in the last 13 matchups with the Flying Fleet.

"Playing against Erskine for the Beville Cup always seems to be a good, close game with both teams scrapping," said Brookman. "Erskine is much-improved and they'll be good again this year. They had a sold showing in Conference Carolinas last year and they have a lot of guys returning."

Erskine posted 14 wins last season – the most since claiming 15 victories during the 2013-14 campaign - and saw its season come to a close with a 14-point road loss to Mount Olive in the opening round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament. Last November, the Trojans used a late second-half run to snap a three-game skid at the hands of the Flying Fleet with a convincing, 75-64, win at the Abney Center.

"Our nonconference schedule will be demanding and of our nonconference opponents are in-region, which will help our strength of schedule," added Brookman.

Following a five-day break, the Black and Gold return to the hardwood to open its South Atlantic Conference schedule by squaring off against two-time defending NCAA Southeast Region Champion Queens on Nov. 26. The Royals finished last season ranked No. 10 in the NABC Rankings and at No. 5 in the D2SIDA Media Poll after earning their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament berth and their 12th overall.

"Queens will be strong yet again. They return a lot of really talented guards and they've had a strong recruiting class, as well," said Brookman. "Our league will be as good and as competitive as it has been the past several years. We are fortunate to play in a really tough league that's going to challenge us. We will have to play well every night just to compete and have a chance to win, but our goal stays the same – win. It's good to open against strong competition – it'll give us an idea of where we stand. It'll be a good challenge for us."

Over the Thanksgiving Holiday, the Trojans travel to conference-newcomer UVa-Wise for the first meeting in program history. The Cavaliers finished 10th in their final season in the Mountain East Conference a year ago with an overall mark of 9-20 and went 6-16 in league action.

"Playing the Saturday following Thanksgiving will be a first for our conference," Brookman noted. "Adding UVa-Wise is good for our league. It adds another quality team to the conference."

AU plays host to Carson-Newman in the Trojans' home opener on Dec. 7, then visits Newberry and new head coach Jason Taylor four days later before returning to the Electric City for their longest homestand of the season when Lenoir-Rhyne invades the Abney Center on Dec. 14. The Bears won their first seven games last season and handed then sixth-ranked Queens its only regular-season loss of the season on the Royals' home court in late January. L-R also caught fire late in the season by winning five of seven contests and earned its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2016.

The Trojans close out their nonconference slate against a pair of Conference Carolinas opponents and their respective new coaches when Belmont Abbey (Dan Ficke) and Limestone (Kyle Perry) visit the Abney Center. The Crusaders posted a stellar 23-8 mark a year ago, but were unable to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament after falling to top-seeded Emmanuel in the finals of the Conference Carolinas Tournament, while the Saints have suffered back-to-back sub-.500 seasons after posting a 27-6 record during the 2017 campaign.

"Belmont Abbey is going to be really good," Brookman noted about his alma mater. "They finished at the top of their league and were just one game away from reaching the NCAA Regional Tournament. They return a lot good players, including the Conference Carolinas Player of the Year (DeQuan Abrom) [who averaged 25 points per game last season]."

Following a 15-day break for Christmas, AU opens the New Year by going on the road for a brief one-game road trip at Tusculum (Jan. 4). The Pioneers notched a 16-13 overall record last season, while going 12-8 in the conference and boast the reigning SAC Freshman of the Year in Trenton Gibson, who averaged 13.1 points and 3.6 assists per game last year. He closed out last season averaging 19.5 points per game in his last four contests.

The Trojans return to play five of their next seven games at the Abney Center, beginning on Jan. 8 with Wingate. The Bulldogs finished 17-13 a season ago after dropping a two-point decision to eventual tourney champion Catawba in the semifinals of the SAC Tournament. AU returns to the Tar Heel State for a matchup with Mars Hill on Jan. 11 with the Black and Gold looking to extend their win streak over the Lions to seven straight.

The Trojans welcome Coker and new head coach Jarred Merrill to the Abney Center (Jan. 15), with perennial regional powerhouse Lincoln Memorial slated to visit the Electric City three days later.

Despite posting a 20-win season a year ago, the Railsplitters had their streak of eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances snapped after dropping a two-point decision to Wingate in the quarterfinals of the SAC Tournament on their home court. LMU has either won or shared the regular season conference title for six of the last seven seasons and seven of the last nine and until last season, the Trojans were the last team other than LMU to claim outright sole possession of the league's championship – in 2012.

AU will wrap up the first half of its double-round robin conference schedule by visiting defending SAC Tournament Champion Catawba on Jan. 22. The Indians (25-8, 14-6 SAC) finished in a second-place deadlock with LMU during the regular season and posted a six-game win streak, including a pair of home wins past the Trojans, over the close of the regular season and into the NCAA Tournament before Queens squeezed out a three-point win over the Indians in the NCAA Southeast Region semifinals.

The Trojans open the second half of their SAC schedule by playing host to UVa-Wise (Jan. 25) and Queens (Jan. 29), while playing five of its final nine regular-season contests on the road for the second consecutive season.

The 2020 South Atlantic Conference Tournament will feature the top eight teams in the league squaring off on Wednesday, March 4 at the home sites of the four top seeds, with the tournament semifinals and championship slated to be held on Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, at Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C. for the ninth consecutive season.