ANDERSON, S.C. – When the Anderson University men's basketball team tips off the 2019-20 campaign Friday afternoon at Flagler's Region Crossover Tournament, the Trojans will be looking to build on last year's late-season momentum when the Trojans won three of their final four regular-season contests.

AU was tabbed eighth in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll late last month and fifth-year Head Coach Jeff Brookman faces the daunting task of replacing four starters from last year's squad that went 16-13 overall and 10-10 in the league. The Trojans will be seeking their fourth consecutive postseason appearance after winning the most home games (11) since the 2012-13 edition of AU men's basketball also claimed 11 victories in the Electric City.

"We lost some players from last year's team who will be difficult to replace," said Brookman. "You knew what you were going to get from those guys every night. It's going to be a challenge and we'll need to have guys step up and produce, but that's part of the fun."

Brookman's roster features Second-Team All-South Atlantic Conference selection, Shawn Benard, alongside junior forward Josh Livingston. The duo combined to see action in 56 games a season ago, while starting a combined 43 contests.

"I think we have a good mix of returners and new guys," added Brookman. "Shawn [Benard] and Josh [Livingston] have proven they can produce and we have a handful of guys that have been around a year or two. There are some unknowns about whether they take the next step, but we have a good group of new guys to blend in. So far, everything is coming together like I would like."

THE BACKCOURT
Benard is a proven point guard who led the conference with a school-record 175 assists last season and was 22nd nationally with his 6.0 assists per game. The talented veteran can also score and play defense, notching three double-doubles last season and reaching double-figure scoring in 17 contests.

The senior from Mobile, Ala., was fourth on the team with nearly 11 points per game a season ago and scored a season-high 24 points twice, while ranking third in the conference with nearly two steals a game.

"Sean is going to be a big part of what we do," noted Brookman. "He's been around and I'm biased but I think he may be the best point guard in the league just from an overall standpoint. His passing is by far the best thing he does, but we're going to lean on him to score a little bit more - he's going to have to put the ball in the basket for us, but we know what we're going to get from Sean on both sides of the floor."

Returning to join Benard in the backcourt is junior guard Jordan Jeffries, who has seen action in 33 games over the past two seasons, while Foster Bridges is back for his second season wearing the Black and Gold. Bridges played in 13 contests a season ago, while scoring a season-high five points and pulling down six rebounds in the mid-February home win over Coker.

A trio of guards are coming off redshirt campaigns a season ago - junior Alex Keel averaged 22.5 points as a senior at Hagerty High School (Oviedo, Fla.) and followed up by averaging 4.3 points per contest at Union University, while redshirt-freshman Mason Brown will get back on the hardwood after playing his prep basketball at Anderson Christian. He was a four-year letterwinner for the Lions and averaged 10 points and seven assists as a senior. Brown captured All-State accolades three times and was named Co-Region Player of the Year as a senior, while finishing his career as AC's all-time assist leader. A 6-foot-1 guard from Richmond, Va., redshirt-freshman Rahim Jenkins has struggled with a preseason injury after averaging 15 points per game as a senior at LC Bird High School two years ago.

A quintet of guards, including three with collegiate experience will make their regular-season debut with the Black and Gold in St. Augustine. Junior guard Kai Rivers was a two-time Second-Team Region X honoree at Spartanburg Methodist and earned Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman at SMC. The Charleston, S.C., native averaged 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season for the Pioneers.

Junior Quin Nottingham earned First-Team All-Conference and All-Area accolades during his prep career at Centennial High School (Champaign, Ill.) and averaged 12.6 points and 5.5 assists per game at Kaskaskia College last season. Junior Jalen Hillery, a transfer from Spartanburg Methodist, averaged nearly 13 points and five rebounds per game as a sophomore for the Pioneers.

The true freshman duo of Crosby James and Mason Carver joined the Trojans following stellar high school careers, with James earning all-region and all-state honors twice, while helping lead Ridge View High School (Columbia, S.C.) to a pair of state championships. Carver was named the 5-A Region Player of the Year and claimed 5-A All-State honors as a senior at Lexington (S.C.) High School a year ago.

"I am very excited about our backcourt," said Brookman. "We have a great mix of experience and young talent. Not only do we return Shawn, who is one of the best guards in the conference, but we also have a good group of returners and newcomers that when healthy will give us good depth in the backcourt. With the loss of four guards that all played significant minutes last season, I am looking forward to seeing who steps up and takes advantage of the opportunity this season."

THE FRONTCOURT
Livingston, a Myrtle Beach, S.C., native has seen action in nearly 60 contests during his two seasons, while starting 15 games last season. He averaged more than eight points per game after reaching double-figure scoring in eight games and scored a career-high 20 points in the home loss to Wingate last February. He pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds at Mars Hill as part of a double-double.

"We are going to depend on Josh to take his game to the next level," said Brookman. "Hopefully he can take on a more prominent role and play 28-30 minutes a game. He's shown the ability to shoot the ball and we'll rely on him to make shots. Josh has also improved defensively and he's one of our best rebounders."

Sophomore Satchel Hester averaged nearly three points a game last season, while seeing action in 26 games. The 6-foot-7 forward netted a season-high 14 points and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds in last season's double-overtime loss to Lincoln Memorial, while playing a season-high 38 minutes against the Railsplitters. Another sophomore, Matt Brown, from Union, S.C., played in 17 games last season. He posted a season-high four points and pulled down three boards in home wins over North Greenville and Coker.

Forward Mack Burgett will help bolster the frontcourt after joining the Trojans this fall. A true freshman from North Chesterfield, Va., and prep teammate of Rahim Jenkins, Burgett helped lead the Skyhawks to a state championship, while garnering all-state recognition twice. He averaged 12 points and nearly eight rebounds per game last season.

Center Jason Edwards saw action in 16 games as a redshirt-freshman last season, while dropping in a season-high 11 points in the home win over Coker and recorded a season-high four rebounds twice – at Lenoir-Rhyne and against the Cobras.

"While our frontcourt is for the most part familiar faces, they are still fairly inexperienced when it comes to game minutes," added Brookman. "Josh is the only returning frontcourt player that has played significant minutes the past couple seasons. I do feel like we have good mix of size, length, athleticism and skill at these positions. This group will continue to improve the more court time they get. It will be vital to our team's development that we get consistent play on a day in day out basis from this group."

"We have to improve our rebounding," said Brookman. "Especially our offensive rebounding. That's an area we need to do a much better job on and we've got to be a very defensive team - especially with the type of teams we are playing and in our league you've got to be ready to defend on every possession. So we've really focused on trying to become a really good defensive unit. We can become a really good defensive team after it's all said and done."

THE SCHEDULE
While the 28-game regular-season slate is nearly evenly balanced, Brookman's squad will open on the road for the ninth time in 12 seasons.

The Trojans will begin the season with a six straight contests on the road, including two games in this weekend's region Crossover Tournament, hosted by Flagler in St. Augustine, Fla. For the third consecutive season, the season-opening conference crossover event will feature Lander and Southern Wesleyan.

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.

Up next for the Trojans is a visit to Tigerville, S.C., and a matchup with North Greenville on Nov. 13. The contest will be just the second meeting between the two programs since the 2012-13 campaign, with AU having won seven straight decisions over the Crusaders dating back to the 2007-08 season.

The Trojans then play just two contests over the next 13 days, with longtime rival Erskine on the slate for Wednesday, Nov. 20. After defeating the Flying Fleet by 11 points last season at the Abney Center, the Trojans are seeking their ninth victory in the last 13 matchups with the Flying Fleet.

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. Over the Thanksgiving Holiday, the Trojans close out the month of November by traveling to conference-newcomer UVa-Wise for the first meeting in program history.

On the heels of the six-game road swing, AU plays four of its next five contests in the Electric City, with a three-game homestand highlighting the home slate in December.

AU plays host to Carson-Newman in the Trojans' home opener on Dec. 7, then visits Newberry 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 caught fire late last 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 on Dec. 17 and 19, respectively.

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 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 home to play five of their next seven games at the Abney Center, beginning on Jan. 8 with Wingate. Three days later, 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.

AU will wrap up the first half of its double-round robin conference schedule by visiting defending SAC Tournament Champion Catawba on Jan. 22 and opens the second half of its 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.

"We are looking forward to getting the season started," concluded Brookman. "This group has shown a good bit of improvement from day to day and from our first scrimmage to the last. While we have been bitten early by the injury bug, the guys have continued to compete and have had the next man up mentality. It's important that we focus on the process of improving every day individually and collectively as a group. We have a long way to go but we have a great group of guys that play and practice hard."

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.