ANDERSON, S.C. -- Sophomore Taylor Shugart's old-fashioned
three-point play with 45.4 seconds left in the game gave the
Trojans a two-point lead and proved to be the winning score as
Anderson outlasted North Greenville, 82-78, in non-conference
basketball action Monday night at the Abney Athletic Center. After
the teams traded 30-second timeouts, North Greenville's Zach
Shields was unable to connect on a long 3-point attempt and was
forced to foul Tony Anderson with just 6.9 seconds left. Anderson,
a native of Greenville, drained both free throws to set the final
margin. "We were fortunate to get the win," Anderson head coach
Jason Taylor said. "They are a well-balanced and talented team."
With the win, Anderson (19-6, 13-6) set a new record for the most
wins in a season since becoming a four-year institution in
1995-1996, surpassing the 18 victories during the 2001-02 season,
and junior guard Brandon Young became the school's all-timer
leading scorer with his 10-point outing. The Belmont, N.C., native
has amassed 1,318 points to pass former Anderson standout Clay
Huggins (1999-02) who scored 1,314 career points. The
regionally-ranked Trojans AU have won five in a row and six of
their last seven as the y make a push down the stretch, snapping
the Crusader's two-game win streak. AU never trailed the last time
these two teams met as the Trojans' picked up the win, and the
story was nearly the same tonight, as Anderson began the contest
with five consecutive 3s and pushed out to a nine-point lead on
three occasions midway through the first half. But North Greenville
stayed close and trimmed the Trojan lead to just a single point
early in the second frame. A drive by Young resulted in a basket
and Shugart's board work paid dividends as the Trojans edged back
out, 49-44, with 16:27 left and three consecutive treys, one by
Tony Anderson and back-to-back 3s from guard Nick Trull propelled
the Trojans to their largest lead of the contest, 71-57, at the
8:12 mark. North Greenville then capitalized on the Trojans'
inability to score, posting a 17-4 over the next six minutes to
gain their first lead of the night on Paul Harrison's inside basket
with just 1:10 on the clock and setting up the final minute of
action.Tony Anderson paced the Trojans' scoring attack with 23
points, while Trull added 17 on the strength of five 3s and Young
netted 10 points. Shugart recorded a game-high 15 rebounds on the
night. Harrison led all scorers with 31 points and pulled down 11
boards. The Trojans wrap up the regular season with a two-game
conference homestand, beginning on Wednesday when Anderson plays
host to Lees-McCrae, scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at the Abney
Center. Box
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