BELMONT, N.C. -- Three points were all that divided Anderson and Belmont Abbey (2-1) on Wednesday night in a tight nonconference matchup that ultimately favored the Trojans 71-68. The Trojans move to 2-1 overall with the win. 

"Always great to get a road win," head coach Jonathon Barbaree said. "They are tough to come by. Especially when you're playing against a great coached team like Belmont Abbey."

The Trojans shot 41.8 percent from the field, going 28-67. They were 8-21 from deep and 7-11 from the line. The bench was clutch for Anderson, scoring 21 points to the Crusaders' 13. The Trojans had a narrow edge on the boards, 37-32. 

"Offensively, I think that we hit timely shots but once again, we have to do a better job of taking care of the ball," Barbaree said. "I thought our bench gave us a big lift tonight as well. Specifically KJ and Alana.  Defensively, we knew that they would score points but our goal was not to send them to the line on top that and keep them below their average attempts. That definitely played a huge part in tonight's win."

The Trojans faced 12 lead changes through the game, going into the second quarter tied 16-16 and going into halftime up 43-41. The Trojans had their biggest lead with 1:30 to play in the first half at 43-36 before the Crusaders closed the gap. 

Both teams' scoring slowed in the second half with the Trojans taking a 28-27 edge to secure the win. 

Graduate student Ciara Harris (Alexandria, Va.) led the scoring for the third straight game with 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. 

Senior Ashlyn Sheridan (Knoxville, Tenn.) dropped 11 points and four rebounds. 

Junior Peytyn Oliver (Athens, Tenn.) came up with 10 points and a career-high seven assists.

Senior Khiara Flugence (Boerne, Texas) came off the bench for a season-high 10 points and seven rebounds. 

Senior Alana Eakle (Westmoreland, Tenn.) also came off the bench for a season-high seven points in just 11 minutes. 

Sophomore Rose Gravel (Ocala, Fla.) had a season-high eight rebounds to lead the team, adding five points and three blocks. 

The Trojans will return to action after the holiday break when they open South Atlantic Conference play on the road at Emory & Henry on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 2 p.m.