Anderson University shot a scorching 64.4 percent from the field and picked up an 80-60 victory over Tusculum College in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action from the Abney Center on Wednesday night.
Kevis Cornwell shot 8-for-11 from the field and scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Trojans (15-10, 9-6 SAC), who snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory and moved into sole possession of third place in the SAC with the win.
Justin Steigerwald and Rob Troutman led the Pioneers (11-14, 8-7 SAC) with 16 points apiece, but Tusculum dropped into a tie for fourth place in the league with Carson-Newman with three games remaining in the regular season. The Pioneers hold the tiebreaker over the Eagles by virtue of their sweep of the season series.
The Trojans shot 66.7 percent (16-for-24) to build a 49-29 lead at halftime, and connected on 61.9 percent in the second half to finish 29-for-45 overall in the contest, including 9-for-20 from three-point range. Brandon Young and Denzail Jones netted 17 points each for the Trojans, while Nick Trull came off the bench to add 12 points and four rebounds.
The 80 points were the most allowed in a game this season by the Pioneers, who entered the game leading the SAC in scoring defense at 64.0 points per game. Young led the Trojans' three-point parade by going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, Tusculum shot 39.5 percent (17-for-43) from the field, well below the team's season average of 47.8 percent. The Pioneers did improve on their SAC-leading free-throw percentage by going 22-for-24 (91.7 percent) from the stripe, including 12-for-12 in the second half.
A barrage of five straight made field goals, four of which were three-pointers, helped the Trojans turn an early 10-8 lead into a 24-13 advantage in a four-minute span. Anderson took its largest lead of the first half on the final shot (49-29), as Young beat the halftime buzzer with the Trojans' seventh three-pointer of the half.
Anderson led by as many as 25 points in the second half before the Pioneers chipped away at the deficit in the closing minutes, going 7-for-7 from the line in the final 5 1/2 minutes.
Pioneer center Tommy Klempin enjoyed a perfect shooting night, hitting all three of his field-goal tries and six free-throw attempts to tally 12 points in 27 minutes of action. Backup center Anton Tuz enjoyed a career high as he came off the bench to play 13 minutes and notch six points.
With Troutman's 16-point performance, he moves within 52 points of joining the 1,000-point club at Tusculum with three regular-season games remaining. His three three-pointers give him 39 over the last nine games.
Tusculum closes out its regular-season home schedule on Saturday against Catawba at 4 p.m. in Pioneer Arena. The Pioneers will honor Troutman, the team's lone senior, as part of its Senior Day festivities./>
