ANDERSON, S.C. – With four players reaching double figures, the Anderson men's basketball team wrapped up a two-game South Atlantic Conference homestand by building a 20-point second-half lead, then surviving a late rally to defeat Mars Hill, 100-97, Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.

Anderson (8-9, 5-8 SAC) snapped a four-game skid and claimed its first win of the calendar year, while Mars Hill slipped to 4-10 and 4-7 with its sixth straight loss and seventh setback in eight outings.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Forward Parker Dortch poured in a team-high 24 points and nearly recorded his second double-double of the season by pulling down nine rebounds. The Columbus, N.J., native was 10-of-16 from the field on the night. Freshman guard Myles Jenkins added a season-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting accuracy from the field, while forward Jalen Hillery matched his season-high with 19 points and grabbed eight boards. Guard Crosby James II tossed in 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out two assists. Guard Quin Nottingham dished out six assists and swiped three steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
AU connected on eight of its first 11 field goal attempts and opened a 17-10 lead on Josh Livingston's first basket of the night at the 13:30 mark of the opening half.

With the Trojans shooting better than 58 percent from the field, the Black and Gold were able to withstand the Lions' 50 percent accuracy and held the lead until Mars Hill knotted the score at 34-34 with more than four minutes left in the frame. But James and Hillery countered with five straight points for AU and gave the Trojans a lead they would not surrender.

Second Half
After leading 43-40 at intermission – and with AU holding a five-point edge – James ignited a 17-7 scoring outburst that saw the Trojans claim a 67-50 lead with just less than 13 minutes left in the game. A little more than three minutes later, a pair of free throws from Dortch boosted AU's advantage to 78-58.

The Trojans still led, 90-77, with 2:13 on the clock when the Lions caught fire from long range and outscored AU, 15-5, over the next 90 seconds courtesy of five consecutive 3-pointers and climbed within 95-92 with 43 seconds remaining.

James slowed Mars Hill by draining a pair of free throws with 31.9 ticks on the clock, with the Lions' Kadyn Dawkins answering with two freebies on the other end and the Trojans still led 97-94 before misfiring on 3-of-4 free throws in a 10-second span, before Jenkins made the second of two attempts to give AU a four-point lead with 6.1 on the clock.

The Lions weren't through yet though, as Isiah Jones drained one last trey with 1.3 showing to get Mars Hill within 98-97. The Lions then sent Nottingham to the line with 0.3 on the clock and the Champaign, Ill., native sank both free throws to set the final margin.

STAT OF THE NIGHT
Mars Hill shot 34 treys and connected on seven of their final eight 3-pointers, including six straight in the final two minutes.

NOTABLES
• The Trojans earned a split of the regular-season series.
• The 57 second-half points were the second-highest total by the Trojans this season – they scored 58 first-half points in the loss to Catawba.
• AU snapped a three-game skid at the hands of the Lions.
• Anderson holds a 21-13 advantage in the all-time series with Mars Hill.
• The Trojans claimed their 18th win in the last 23 meetings with Mars Hill.
• The contest marked the second time this season that the Trojans reached the century mark.
• The Trojans are 6-1 since the 2013-14 season when scoring at least 100 points.
• The game was tied for 33 seconds.
• AU out-shot the Lions, 50.7%-45.3% from the field.
• Mars Hill won the rebounding battle and pulled down 18 offensive boards.
• AU outscored Mars Hill, 46-32, in the paint.

UP NEXT
The Trojans go back on the road for a one-game road trip at Limestone, with AU looking for its third consecutive win over the Saints. The Trojans defeated Limestone, 81-77, back on Dec. 11 at the Abney Center. Tip-off at the Timken Center is slated for 4 p.m.