ANDERSON, S.C. --- Chandler Hash poured in 28 points, including six 3-pointers to lead the Anderson University men's basketball team to an 89-76 South Atlantic Conference victory over visiting Tusculum College Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
The loss spoils the career scoring night for Tusculum junior Darius Carter as he posted 39 points, shooting 12-of-24 from the floor, including 4-of-10 from three-point territory. He also went a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line, becoming the 12th player in school history to not miss from the charity stripe in a game (min. 10 attempts).
TC redshirt freshman Chase Mounce tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and a career-high seven blocked shots, which are the second most rejections in program history. Senior guard Addison Flynn recorded 10 points in the loss.
The Trojans' Myson Jones scored 22 points, while CJ Gleaton finished with 16 points and six rebounds as Anderson (20-7, 15-6 SAC) moves into a tie for second place in the conference and secures a home game for next week's Food Lion SAC Tournament quarterfinal. AU has won 11 of its last 13 games and has guaranteed the program's fourth 20-win campaign in the last five seasons.
It was a game of runs in the opening half as Tusculum (3-24, 2-19 SAC) jumped out to a 12-7 lead, including five points from Carter in the opening 4:12 of the contest. The Trojans answered with a 16-2 run as Anderson led 23-14 at the 8:45 mark of the period following a pair of Gleaton free throws. TC followed with a 16-3 spurt as the Pioneers led 30-26, sparked by Carter's 13 points during the run as Tusculum regained the lead at 30-26 with five minutes left before halftime. But Anderson closed out the first half with a 16-2 run, including a three-pointer by Hash at the buzzer as the Trojans carried a 42-32 advantage into the locker room.
In the second half, Anderson led 46-36, but Tusculum junior guard Mason Fox scored five unanswered points, including his first collegiate 3-pointer as TC trimmed the deficit to 46-41 with 16:19 remaining.
Anderson followed with back-to-back three-pointers from Alani Adekambi and Hash to move the AU lead out to 52-41 at the 15:33 mark of the period.
Tusculum fired back with an 8-2 run of its own as Mounce canned consecutive jumpers, while Flynn and Carter added a bucket each as TC trailed once again by five (54:49) with 13:44 left on the clock.
Anderson built its lead out to a dozen at 65-53 with 10:21 left thanks to five points from Gleaton as the Trojans utilized an 11-4 spurt.
Trailing 70-58, Tusculum got a tip-in from Matt Shown and Mounce buried a pair of free throws as the Pioneers reduced the Anderson lead to single-digits at 70-62 with 6:20 to go.
AU took its largest lead of the night with a 10-2 run over the 2:09 to move out to an 80-64 cushion with 4:11 to go following a Hash three-pointer.
Tusculum made one final push with eight straight points coming on a Flynn trey and five straight points from Carter as TC trailed 80-72 with 2:38 to go. But that would be as close as the Pioneers would get as Jones added another three-pointer and Hash connected on four free throws to seal the victory.
Carter's 39-point performance is tied for the 11th most points in program history and becomes the first Pioneer to reach the 39-point plateau since Kyle Moore when he achieved the feat against Carson-Newman in 2010.
Tusculum will close out its season on Saturday when the Pioneers host Coker College for a 4 p.m. contest at Pioneer Arena. Flynn and fellow senior J.D. Miller will be recognized in ceremonies immediately following the Tusculum/Coker women's game.
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