Denzail Jones scored a game-high 29 points as 24th-ranked
Anderson University fought off an upset bid from Tusculum College
Wednesday night, winning 75-72 in South Atlantic Conference men's
basketball action at Pioneer Arena.
Jones scored the final six points for the Trojans (19-4, 14-1 SAC),
including a three-point play with 28.9 seconds left that gave
Anderson a 72-67 lead. Jones, who also had a team-high eight
rebounds, added two free throws with 13.7 seconds left and another
with 6.5 seconds to play to give Anderson a six-point lead at
75-69. Kevin Vest hit a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds left to
bring Tusculum within three, but Anderson was able to inbound the
ball and ran out the clock.
Vest led the Pioneers (8-15, 5-10 SAC) with 21 points, including 18
in the second half, and dished out seven assists as Tusculum shot
50.9 percent (28-for-55) from the field. However, the Trojans
committed just eight turnovers and went 8-for-19 from three-point
range to come away with their fifth straight win and 12th victory
in their last 13 games.
Joining Vest in double figures for the Pioneers were Tommy Klempin,
with 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds, and Justin
Steigerwald who tallied 13 points. Nicholas Spinks just missed
joining the trio in double figures, finishing with nine points on
4-of-6 shooting to go with four rebounds and three assists.
The first half was a see-saw affair that saw three ties and a
whopping 10 lead changes. Tusculum had an early three-point lead at
6-3 and Anderson led by as many as seven points, including 41-34
heading into intermission. Jones was on fire early for the Trojans,
going 3-for-4 from three-point range and leading all players with
17 points in the first half. Steigerwald and Klempin shared the
team lead for Tusculum with nine points in the opening half.
After seeing Tusculum pull within 47-45 on a layup by Vest with
15:14 to go, Anderson went on a 13-3 run to take its largest lead
of the night at 60-48 on a three-pointer by Chandler Hash with
11:04 remaining. The Trojans still held a double-digit lead at
64-54 with 6:21 left, but Tusculum reeled off seven points in a row
including five from Vest to cut the margin to 64-61 at the 4:55
mark.
Two free throws by Darius Carter trimmed the Anderson lead to 67-65
with 2:30 left, but Tusculum missed on tying and go-ahead shots
with just over 90 seconds left and Nick Trull canned two free
throws to give Anderson a 69-65 lead with 1:08 to play. Vest
answered with a layup with 51.8 seconds left as Tusculum pulled
within 69-67, but Jones got the roll on an out-of-control layup
attempt and drew the foul with 28.9 seconds remaining. His
three-point play gave the Trojans a five-point lead at 72-67.
Tusculum will play its final road game of the 2011-12 regular
season Saturday afternoon at Catawba, with tipoff slated for 4 p.m.
from Goodman Gymnasium in Salisbury, N.C.
