ANDERSON, S.C. – The Newberry College men's basketball team used a strong second half to earn its second consecutive road victory and third straight overall, winning by a final score of 77-72 over the Anderson Trojans on Wednesday night.
Down five after a closely played first half, 37-32, the Wolves quickly brought the Trojan lead down to 41-39 and later tied the score at 48 thanks to a
TJ Brown (Columbia, S.C.) 3-pointer with just under 14 minutes to play.
After two game minutes without a basket for either team,
Andrew Robinson (Lexington, S.C.) put Newberry (13-8, 6-5 SAC) back on top 50-48 to give the team its first lead of the second half after being down by as many as seven.
Resiliency is the name of the game for these Wolves.
Over the next nine minutes, Newberry and Anderson (7-14, 4-7 SAC) traded blows, the lead never eclipsing four points for either team. The game was tied on four occasions during that stretch – including at 67-all with 2:34 remaining.
QuanDaveon McCollum's (Clio, S.C.) layup put the Wolves ahead 69-68, and two clutch offensive rebounds by
Malakhi Stremlow (Traverse City, Mich.) led to his successful 3-point play to give Newberry a 72-70 advantage with 1:31 on the clock. Two Anderson free throws evened the score once more, but another 3-point play – this one from Brown – and two Robinson free throws following a pivotal McCollum block secured victory for the Wolves.
A second straight double-double from McCollum (22 points, 11 rebounds) paced Newberry; it was the seventh double-double of the season for McCollum. Stremlow also recorded a double-double, his fourth of the year, scoring 11 points while pulling down a team-high 12 boards.
Malik Joseph (Eleuthera, Bahamas) added a season-high 17 points, and Brown, 12.
As a team, the Wolves made 80% of their free throws (12 of 15) and outworked the Trojans on the glass, holding a 38-26 rebounding advantage.
Myles Jenkins led Anderson with 15 points, followed by Jalen Hillery's 14.
Newberry returns home for a Saturday conference matchup with the visiting Cavaliers of UVA Wise. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. in Eleazer Arena.
