ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson men's basketball team wrapped up the season with a 75-59 setback to Tusculum, Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
Anderson closed out the season with an 11-17 overall record and an 8-16 mark in conference play. The Trojans' bid for their sixth straight appearance in the SAC Tournament fell just short.
Tusculum, which was playing its third game in four days and fifth game in eight days, improved to 19-7 overall and 19-5 in conference action with its fifth straight win and seventh victory in eight outings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Forward Parker Dortch led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, while guard Collin Mills netted a season-high 17 points. Josh Livingston scored eight points and shared team-high rebounding honors with five boards, alongside freshman Myles Jenkins, who also grabbed five rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Behind a jumper by Jalen Hillery and a 3-pointer from Josh Livingston, the Trojans took a 5-2 lead inside the opening three minutes of the contest, but Tusculum used a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to claim a five-point advantage with less than 15 minutes left in the opening half.
AU countered by knotting the score at 12-12, before the Pioneers reeled off a 14-1 scoring outburst that gave the visitors a double-digit, 26-13, lead at the 7:28 mark.
Tusculum pushed out to a 19-point advantage late in the first half, with the Trojans eventually trimming the deficit to a dozen (65-53) with less than five minutes left in the contest. But the Black and Gold were unable to get any closer in the final moments.
NOTABLES
• The Trojans bid farewell to Josh Livingston, Jason Edwards, Jalen Hillery and Parker Dortch.
• The Trojans and Pioneers have met 26 times, with the Trojans holding a 16-10 advantage on the strength of an 11-game win streak versus the Pioneers from 2008-2015.
• Guard Crosby James wrapped up the season in 14th place in the school record books with 1,090 career points. The Columbia native needs 31 points to move past Shawn Benard (2015-20) for 13th place.
