ANDERSON, S.C. – With five players reaching double figures in the scoring column for the second time this season, Anderson rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit to outpace UVA Wise, 88-80, in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action, Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.

"I was happy to see us bounce back," said Anderson head coach Jeff Brookman. "We started the game off slow on both sides of the ball but finally found a pretty good rhythm against their zone after about nine or ten minutes. We still need to continue to get better with our late-game execution at the end of games. We will enjoy the win for a few hours and then get our minds and bodies ready for a lot of games over the next two weeks."

Anderson (3-5, 3-5 SAC) bounced back from last Wednesday night's loss at Carson-Newman to earn its third home victory of the season, while snapping the Cavaliers' two-game win streak.

UVA Wise slipped to 2-10 overall and 2-10 in league play with its first loss in three outings.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Guard Kai Rivers led the Black and Gold with a season-high 22 points, while also pulling down five rebounds and dishing out a pair of assists. The junior from Charleston was 9-of-11 from the field and was 3-for-3 from the free throw line. Staton came off the bench to pour in a season-high 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 accuracy from the charity stripe. He grabbed a season-high five rebounds and handed out a season-best, game-high five assists. Sophomore guard Crosby James II added 19 points, while pulling down a season-high six boards. Classmate Mack Burgett netted a career-high 12 points and recorded a season-best seven rebounds in 19 minutes of action. Senior guard Alex Keel tossed in 10 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists.

UVA Wise junior Cameron Whiteside scored a game-high 29 points, including 20 in the second half, and pulled down 11 rebounds. Guard Briggs Parris netted 22 points for the Cavaliers, while sophomore Drew Greene chipped in 10 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
James began the scoring by draining a 3-pointer from the left wing just 21 seconds into the contest, but AU misfired on its next seven field goal attempts – with all but one of the misses coming from beyond the arc. The Cavaliers capitalized on the drought by going 8-of-13 from the field and connected on three of their first four 3-pointers to build a 21-7 lead with 13:07 remaining in the first half.

AU turned up the defensive heat over the next six minutes and with James scoring five points and Burgett adding a pair of layups, the Trojans answered with a 17-3 scoring run, while capping the surge with 13 unanswered points to knot the score for just the second time, at 24 apiece.

But the Cavs countered with a 3-pointer and a traditional three-point play to regain a six-point advantage with less than seven minutes on the clock and the visitors held the lead until James connected on a 3-pointer from deep on the left side to deadlock the score at 36-36 with 2:53 on the clock.

Parris, who scored 17 points in the first half, then keyed a four-point burst for UVA Wise, but the Trojans came up with two steals and forced a pair of turnovers inside the final two minutes of the frame and closed with nine straight points to claim their first lead since James' game-opening trey and took a 45-40 halftime advantage.

Second Half
UVA Wise opened the second stanza on a 10-2 run and eventually tied the contest for the final time of the day, at 50 apiece. However the Trojans refused to fold and answered yet again by building a double-digit, 67-54, cushion on the strength of a 17-4 outburst with James and Rivers combining for 13 points to fuel AU's final rally.

The Trojans claimed their largest lead, 74-58, at the 7:18 mark and connected on 10-of-12 free throw attempts inside the final three minutes to hold off the Cavaliers down the stretch.

ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
The Trojans were 32-of-63 (50.8%) from the field – marking their second-highest shooting percentage of the season.

NOTABLES
• With last season marking the Cavaliers' first campaign in the South Atlantic Conference, today's game marked just their second visit to the Abney Center.
• AU out-rebounded the Cavaliers, 40-31, and equaled a season-high with 13 offensive boards.
• The Trojans claimed their second win in three outings.
• AU earned its second straight win over UVA Wise.
• Including today's contest, the Trojans are scheduled to play eight games over the next 17 days, with three of the contests coming on the road and the final three at home.
• The Trojans have recorded at least five treys in all eight games, with a season-high 12 vs. Carson-Newman on Jan. 9.

UP NEXT
The Trojans are slated to open a three-game road swing at Queens, Monday night. Tip-off against the Royals in Charlotte, N.C. is scheduled for 8 p.m.