Box Score
Box score
ANDERSON, S.C. - With four players reaching double figures in
the scoring column, Anderson outpaced Carson-Newman, 85-80, in
South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Saturday
afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
Anderson (10-4, 6-0 SAC) extended its win streak to four, as the
Trojans claimed their fourth consecutive win past Carson-Newman,
which slipped to 11-3 overall and 4-2 in the conference. The Eagles
saw their win streak halted at three.
Trojan guard Denzail Jones' third 3-pointer of the afternoon
with 33 seconds left erased a one-point Carson-Newman advantage and
gave Anderson an 81-79 edge - a lead the Trojans would not
relinquish. After the Eagles' Cody Henegar connected on one-of-two
free throws on the other end to pull Carson-Newman within one, the
senior from Tuscaloosa, Ala., followed with a pair of free throws
with 3.5 seconds remaining to boost AU's lead to 83-80.
Forward Bo Holston intercepted the Eagles' inbounds pass and
junior Chandler Hash drained two from the charity stripe with 1.1
seconds remaining to set the final margin.
The two teams entered the contest with each riding a three-game
win streak and featured four of the top 10 scorers in the
conference, with Jones leading the league. Carson-Newman junior
forward Antoine Davis ranks second and teammate Ishmael Sanders is
third. Hash entered the game ranked ninth in the SAC.
Hash led all scorers with 25 points, including 16 in the second
half. The 6-foot sharpshooter recorded a career-high seven
3-pointers, leading the Trojans to a season-best 15 treys for the
game. Jones added 17 points and dished out a season-high seven
assists, while junior Kyle Sledge notched AU's first double-double
of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Holston netted 10
points and recorded two blocked shots, with center Chris Ross
chipping in seven points, six rebounds and notching a career-best
four blocked shots.
Preseason First-team All-SAC selections Davis and Sanders paced the
Eagles with 21 points apiece, with Henegar tossing in 16 and
sophomore guard Jared Johnson adding 15.
The Trojans won the long-range shooting duel, connecting on a
season-best 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from beyond the arc, including
10 in the decisive second half. The Eagles were 14-of-26 (53.8
percent) from long range.
The contest featured eight ties and 16 lead changes, including
13 in the second half.
AU bolted out to its largest lead of the game, at 12-3, at the
16:06 mark of the opening half with Jones and Hash combining to
score nine points.
But Carson-Newman battled back behind a 14-6 run over the next
eight minutes to trim the Trojan lead to just 20-19 and claimed its
first lead, 21-20, on a layup by Davis with 7:27 left in the half.
The Eagles' lead was brief, however as AU reclaimed the edge 17
seconds later on a 3-pointer from Myson Jones from deep in the
right corner.
The Eagles snapped a 25-25 tie and closed the final 6:05 of the
half with a 13-6 run to hold a 38-31 lead at the break.
Sledge opened the second half by scoring four straight points to
spark a 12-1 run by the Trojans, with the lead changing hands 11
times over the final 16:39 of the game and neither team was able to
build more than a five-point lead the rest of the way.
Preseason league favorite Wingate invades the Abney Center on
Wednesday for an 8 p.m. tip-off. The Trojans and Bulldogs are each
undefeated in conference play and tied atop the league standings in
the league standings, each at 6-0.