ANDERSON, S.C. – With sophomore guard Randall Shaw pouring in a game-high 26 points and three other Trojans reaching double figures, the Anderson men's basketball team closed out the calendar year with an 81-71 win past Tusculum in South Atlantic Conference action, Monday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
With each team playing its second game in three days, Anderson evened its overall record at 6-6 on the season and improved to 4-2 in league play. The Trojans have won two of their last three decisions and claimed their seventh win in the last eight meetings against the Pioneers at the Abney Center. Tusculum slipped to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the league with its fourth loss in five outings.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Shaw scored 15 of his points in the opening half, while connecting on 8-of-15 from the field for the game. Sophomore guard Shawn Benard came off the bench to add 13 points and a pair of steals, while fellow sophomore Andrew Boynton also tallied 13 points on the night. Sophomore forward Jeremy Bouton chipped in 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 night from the night and was 3-of-3 from long range. Junior guard Maurice Howard tallied nine points and dished out a team-high five assists. Junior forward Luke Musselwhite recorded a season-high four blocked shots in the second half.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Tusculum scored the first four points of the contest, with AU misfiring on its first four field goal attempts before Bouton got the Trojans on the scoreboard by nailing the first of his three treys from the right corner. But the Pioneers' Cory Fagan and Ronnie Baylark quickly countered by sandwiching back-to-back 3-pointers around a free throw from Benard to boost Tusculum's lead to 10-4 with just less than 16 minutes left in the opening half.
The first seven minutes of the contest was a scoring contest between Shaw and Baylark, as each dropped in six points to lead their respective teams in the opening minutes. Baylark's second and final 3-pointer of the night gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the game, 19-11, at the 13:06 mark, with Shaw dropping in a free throw 14 seconds later to trim the deficit to seven.
The free throw ignited a 7-0 run by the Trojans, with Carlos Dotson, Benard and Bouton combining for the offensive output, as AU knotted the score for the first time at 19 apiece. Less than two minutes later, Benard found Bouton open on the left wing for another trey that gave the Trojans their first lead of the night, 24-22, at the 9:38 mark.
But the lead was short-lived, as TC's Conner Mitchell tied the game for the third time with a short jumper before Benard ignited a 17-6 outburst by AU that gave the Trojans a double-digit lead they would not relinquish. Benard posted six points and Shaw added seven during the decisive breakout and despite Tusculum finishing the half with five unanswered points, the Trojans still held a 41-35 halftime edge.
Second Half
Boynton and Dotson propelled the Trojans' lead back to double digits inside the first four minutes of the second half, with Tusculum getting as close as 55-50 with 11:59 on the clock. But Boynton's basket halted the Pioneer rally and the Trojans used a 16-2 run to put the game out of reach.
ANDERSON STAT OF THE NIGHT
Luke Musselwhite's four blocked shots were the most by an individual player since Kyle Sledge recorded four rejections in the Trojans' 82-72 win at Coker on Feb. 22, 2014.
NOTABLES
• Randall Shaw reached the 20-point plateau for the eighth time this season.
• The Trojans improved to 3-0 with Shaw, Howard, Boynton, Bouton and Dotson as the starting quintet.
• The Trojans and Pioneers each committed 11 turnovers.
• The Trojans have connected on at least 10 treys in three of their last four games.
• The Trojans have shot at least 50 percent from the field in three of their last four games.
UP NEXT
Following a 15-day break for Christmas and New Year's, the Trojans open the New Year by visiting Brevard on Wednesday, Jan. 4. Tip-off versus the Tornados is set for 8 p.m.
