Box Score
Box score
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Guards Chandler Hash and Myson Jones
combined for 48 points, as the Anderson men's basketball team
claimed its seventh consecutive win by outpacing Tusculum, 80-73,
Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.
Anderson (16-5, 11-4 SAC) maintained sole possession of second
place in the league standings with its eighth straight win past the
Pioneers, while recording its longest win streak of the season. The
Trojans also improved to 10-1 away from the Abney Center with their
seventh straight road win, while Tusculum fell to 3-18 overall and
2-13 in the conference with its second straight setback.
Tusculum finished the night shooting 47.5 percent from the
field, while the Trojans overcame a slow start to finish the night
shooting 42.1 percent, but compensated by connecting on their
third-highest accuracy of the season from beyond the arc, at 52.2
percent (12-of-23). The Pioneers outscored AU, 36-22, in the paint,
while the Trojans won the battle of the boards by six rebounds.
Hash moved into sixth-place all-time in Anderson's scoring
record books with the game-high 28 points and was a perfect
10-of-10 from the free throw line. Jones added 20 points on the
night, while DJ McGowan came off the bench to chip in eight points
and equaled a career-best with a team-high eight rebounds. Redshirt
junior Nick Jackson, who garnered his first start for the Black and
Gold, finished with eight points and five boards.
Junior guard Darius Carter led the Pioneers with 20 points, with
senior guard Addison Flynn netting 17. Sophomore forward Keith
Jumper posted a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 12
rebounds.
"We were fortunate to win," said Anderson head coach Jason
Taylor. "[Tusculum] is a good, well-coached team. Our guys made
plays when we needed them. There are more positives than negatives
when you win on the road in this league."
With the Trojans short-handed due to senior CJ Gleaton not
making the trip to Greeneville because of an illness, Anderson
opened sluggishly on the offensive end, connecting on just one of
their first five field goal attempts. Tusculum was 3-of-4 on the
other end to open the contest, including a pair of 3-pointers, as
the Pioneers raced out to a quick 8-0 lead in the first two-plus
minutes.
But Anderson countered with six unanswered points in the paint
to trim to the early deficit to just two at the 16:17 mark of the
opening half on a layup from senior Kyle Sledge. Following a basket
by Tusculum's Chase Mounce, AU cut the Pioneers' advantage to 10-9
on the first of two straight 3-pointers from Jones and drew even
for the first time of the night on Jones' second straight 3-pointer
as part of a rare four-point play with 14:29 on the clock.
Tusculum took advantage of its hot shooting to quickly counter
and snap the deadlock with a 14-3 outburst to take their largest
lead of the game, at 27-16 midway through the half. The Pioneers
were shooting 88.9 percent from the field midway through the run,
but Anderson battled back with sophomore guard Myles Daniel fueling
an 8-0 run with five straight points as part of a 16-5 run to knot
the score for just the second time of the night. Jackson capped the
surge by knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the score at
32 apiece.
The Pioneers again answered quickly, this time with another 8-0
surge and closed the half with a 10-5 run to claim a 42-37 lead
heading to the locker rooms.
After falling behind by eight to open the second stanza, the
Trojans battled back to take their first lead of the night, 51-49,
on Hash's second 3-pointer of the game from the left side with
13:32 remaining in the contest. But the Trojans went cold over the
next 4:42, as AU committed a pair of turnovers and misfired on four
of their next five field goal attempts. The scoring drought enabled
Tusculum to regain a 55-53 edge midway through the final half.
With the Pioneers clinging to a 59-54 lead, Hash sank
back-to-back treys to give the Trojans a brief 60-59 advantage with
less than seven minutes on the clock. But Tusculum outscored the
Trojans 7-2 to take a four-point lead with just a little more than
four minutes on the clock, before McGowan connected on one-of-two
from the line and Jones sandwiched two 3-pointers around a Mounce
jumper to regain a 69-68 lead for AU. McGowan followed with a
tip-in to boost the cushion to three, but Carter answered on the
other end with a traditional three-point play to knot the score for
the eighth and final time of the night, at 71-71.
The Trojans then reeled off nine unanswered points, with Hash
tallying seven in the final moments, to take an 80-71 lead with
just nine seconds left. Carter added a basket at the buzzer to set
the final score.
Anderson wraps up its three-game conference road swing by
traveling to Wingate on Saturday in a rematch of the Dec. 4 game
that saw the Bulldogs rally from a 17-point second-half deficit to
claim the win at the Abney Athletic Center. Tip-off is set for 4
p.m. at Cuddy Arena.