SALISBURY, N.C. – Forward Jalen Hillery and guard Jacksen Greco combined for 51 points, but Catawba's late-game free throw accuracy boosted the Indians past the Trojans, 97-85, in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action, Saturday afternoon at Goodman Gym.

"Really impressed by Catawba," said Anderson head coach Jimmie Williams. "They played hard and physical, and pressed us the whole way. I can't say enough about our guys though. Mason (Carver) and (Jacksen) Greco with back-to-back 40-minute games giving everything they have. We are out five scholarship players with injuries and nobody is using that as an excuse. Jalen Hillary has stepped up big for us having a season-high for points and rebounds, and minutes played. They are big and athletic and lead the league in rebounding, and we go out there without our leading rebounder, Myles Jenkins, and win the battle on the glass by 11 as proof of our heart and toughness. Greco had 13 rebounds from the guard position to go along with 23 points. We gave everything we had today, and I can live with that as we build this program. We will clean up what we need to and get back to work Monday. I love this team!"

Anderson slipped to 5-13 overall and 2-6 in league action with its fourth setback in five decisions, while Catawba improved to 13-4 and 8-1 with its seventh straight win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Hillery was 6-of-7 in the first half, with every basket coming from beyond the arc, with the Lawrenceville, Ga., native notching a season-high 18 points by halftime. He finished with 28 points on 10-of-17 accuracy from the field, including 8-of-13 from long range. He also pulled down a season-high six rebounds. Greco added 23 points and recorded a season-high 13 rebounds while sharing game-high honors with six assists.

Senior guard Mason Carver netted a season-high 18 points, while grabbing six rebounds and handing out six assists. Redshirt freshman Ian Thomson came off the bench to score five points and corral a season-high eight rebounds.

Junior guard DeAngelo Epps led the Indians with 20 points, while junior forward Jerome Bivins added 19 points and junior guard Javeon Jones netted 18. Kaleb Wallace had 11 points in the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
Behind Hillery's hot hand (6-of-7) from long distance in the opening frame, the Trojans connected on nine of their 16 attempts from beyond the arc. in first half.

Catawba opened up an early four-point lead inside the first three minutes and despite knotting the score three times, the Trojans were unable to wrestle the lead away from the Indians until later in the half. Catawba snapped a 21-21 tie with a 9-3 spurt to build the first half's largest lead, at 30-24, midway through the frame, with AU countering by going on a 12-4 run over the next 2 ½ minutes to claim what turned out to be their largest lead of the contest (36-34) with 7:23 on the clock.

But the Indians reclaimed the advantage behind seven unanswered points and held a 45-43 lead at halftime.

Second Half
The lead changed hands 10 times inside the first five minutes of the second half, before the Trojans went scoreless for nearly three minutes. The brief drought enabled Catawba to score eight straight points as part of a 16-2 outburst that saw the Indians grab a 69-56 advantage at the 10:26 mark.

After falling behind by 14 with less than five minutes remaining, the Trojans cut the deficit in half and climbed within seven on two occasions – the latest at 90-83, but the Indians were 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the final 81 seconds to seal the victory.

ANDERSON STAT OF THE DAY
Jalen Hillery's eight 3-pointers on the day matched Garret Denbow's eight treys against Coker for the team's best single-game effort of the season and were just one shy of the program record, which is shared by former standouts Chandler Hash and Robbie Seabrook (twice).

NOTABLES
• The largest lead for either team was a mere six points until the 13:07 mark of the second half.
• The game featured 12 lead changes and six ties
• Jacksen Greco posted his first career double-double, with 23 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
• The Trojans now have nine double-doubles on the season.
• The Trojans won the rebounding battle, 44-33, and pulled down 13 offensive boards – their third-highest total of the season.
• AU's 18 assists also marked their third-highest total of the season.
• Catawba converted 17 Trojan turnovers into 26 points.
• The Trojans hold a 17-16 advantage in the all-time series with the Indians.
• Catawba has won five straight in the series.
• After connecting on at least 77% of their free throws in their last four games, the Trojans were just 6-of-11 from the stripe against Catawba.

UP NEXT
The Trojans will wrap up the two-game SAC road swing by traveling to Wingate on Wednesday for the third regular-season meeting - and second matchup at Cuddy Arena in two weeks – of the season against the Bulldogs. Tip-off against the Bulldogs is slated for 7:30 p.m.