DAHLONEGA, Ga. - Anderson opened a four-game road swing by dropping a 70-49 decision to North Georgia in non-conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Memorial Hall.

Playing for the first time in nearly three weeks, Anderson (7-3) had its win streak snapped at four, while North Georgia (6-5) broke a two-game skid versus the Trojans and improved to 5-1 at home this season.

Anderson senior center Taylor Shugart scored the first basket of the game with just more than a minute gone, but the Saints countered by scoring nine unanswered points as part of a 17-2 run over the next six minutes to claim a 13-point lead with 12:22 on the clock.

AU sophomore Kyle Sledge dropped in a layup midway through the half to slow the Saints' outburst, but the Trojans continued their sluggish start, with North Georgia pushing out to a 17-point margin, its largest lead of the first half, on three occasions inside the final six minutes of the opening frame.

The Trojans scored six of the half's last 11 points in the final two minutes as senior Jo'el Lamb worked free for a slam, Shugart nailed a short jumper and freshman Myson Jones followed a Saints' 3-pointer with a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to 34-20 with 32 seconds left, but it was as close as AU would get, as North Georgia's Travis Core set the halftime score at 36-20 with a pair of free throws.

Anderson again trimmed the deficit to 14 on a layup from Shugart with 18:23 remaining in the contest, but the Saints edged back out to a 21-point cushion before senior guard Nick Trull scored four straight for the Trojans. But North Georgia was able to capitalize on a season-low three treys by the Trojans en route to building a 26-point lead in the closing minutes.

Trull paced the Trojans with 11 points in their final non-conference game of the season, while Shugart recorded a team-high eight rebounds.

North Georgia senior Clarence Tillman led all scorers with 22 points, while pulling down 11 rebounds. Junior forward Scott Windom added 18 points and forward Elijah Smith netted 10 points.
The Trojans get back into South Atlantic Conference action Wednesday at Lenoir-Rhyne. Tip-off versus the Bears is scheduled for 4 p.m. AU returns home on Saturday, Jan. 14, when preseason SAC favorite Lincoln Memorial invades the Abney Center.