ANDERSON, S.C. - Paced by freshman Randall Shaw's game-high 20 points and sophomore Maurice Howard's career-best 17 point effort, the Anderson men's basketball team snapped a three-game skid by outpacing Mars Hill, 81-57, in the South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams Tuesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.

Playing its fifth game in 11 days, Anderson (2-3, 1-0 SAC) used a late first-half run to overcome an eight-point deficit and won its 10th straight decision past the Lions. Mars Hill slipped to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the league, while seeing its' win streak halted at two.

The Trojans owned an impressive 49-31 rebounding edge, while outshooting Mars Hill, 47.5 percent to 36.5 percent from the field. After the Lions took a seven-point lead midway through the opening half, the Trojan defense held Mars Hill to just one field goal and a pair of free throws over the next 11-plus minutes of action during the decisive run. AU outscored the Lions, 24-18, in the paint and converted seven Mars Hill turnovers into 13 points.

Shaw was 8-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc, while Howard added three steals on the night. Freshman forward Jeremy Bouton came off the bench to score 11 points in just 15 minutes of action, while Tre' Fields, Shawn Benard and Lex Davis added eight points apiece. Fields also dished out a game-high five assists, with Davis pulling down a game-best eight rebounds.

Seniors Tyree Griffin and Patrick Monroe led Mars Hill with 10 points apiece.

Behind a pair of 3-pointers from senior guard Jalen Witherspoon and a layup by Griffin, the Lions scored the first eight points of the game. Shaw got the Trojans on the scoreboard with his first trey of the night with just less than three minutes gone in the opening half. With Fields leading the way with five points, AU chipped away at the deficit with a 14-6 run and knotted the score for the only time of the night, at 14 apiece, with 12:10 left in the half.

But Mars Hill countered with seven unanswered points behind a pair of 3-pointers from Monroe and a free throw by Brandon McCarter, as the Lions regained a 21-14 advantage with 10:15 on the clock. Bouton's jumper then ignited a 17-2 run by the Trojans that spanned the remainder of the half, with Howard dropping in 11 points during the final 5:48, including the last seven points of the half, as AU held a 36-23 lead at the break.

After AU's Rakish Taylor posted two free throws in the opening seconds of the second half, Griffin scored the Lions' first field goal since the 10:53 mark of the first half with a layup with 19:13 on the clock. The Trojans held the margin for the next seven minutes, then began building on their advantage and claimed their largest lead, at 72-40, midway through the final half.

The Trojans take a seven-day break for the Thanksgiving Holiday before opening a two-game homestand by welcoming Peach Belt Conference opponent Young Harris to the Abney Center on Dec. 2. Tip-off versus the Mountain Lions is slated for 7 p.m.