NEWBERRY — The Newberry Wolves men’s basketball team (6-3, 2-2 SAC) used a huge second half comeback to defeat the visiting Anderson Trojans 76-67 Wednesday night in Eleazer Arena.
Newberry went on a 51-22 run that spanned both halves, turning what was a double digit deficit with less than two minutes left in the first half into a two possession lead with less than two minutes remaining.
The first half started out horrifically for the Wolves, Anderson bolted out to a quick 11-2 lead on the strength of six points by Shawn Benard, the reigning South Atlantic Conference player of the week. A jumper by Mack Burgett boosted the lead out to 23-10 with less than eight minutes to go in the opening period. The lead continued to swell as Benard rebounded his own missed layup and put it back, giving the Trojans a 17 point lead with just over minutes to go in the first half. A Satchel Hester three pointer gave Anderson their biggest lead of the game, at 37-18, before Newberry closed the gap to 16 points at halftime on two Donnie Haith free throws and an and-one by Angelo Sales Jr.
The Wolves got off to a great start in the second half as Luke Gibson hit a three-pointer just twenty seconds in. A Callan Low free throw and two free throws by Sales got the lead down to ten quickly. Newberry continued to play well and cut the lead to single digits on a Gibson layup. Marshall Lange scored five points shortly thereafter to close the lead to seven points. After TJ Brown hit two free throws to cut the lead to 47-43, Anderson responded with an and-one by Crosby James to extend the lead back out to seven.
Another three-pointer by Gibson and two free throws by Brown made it a one possession game at 50-48. Two more Brown free throws a short while later tied the score at 52, leading to a furious finish down the stretch. Brown hit a three-pointer and then made a layup on the fast break to give the Wolves a five point lead, their largest of the game up until that point.
A Marcus Ford three-pointer gave the Wolves a six point lead with just under eight minutes to play. After another Hester three-pointer closed the Newberry lead to two points, Low hit a three-pointer to extend the lead back out to five. Sales then took over down the stretch as he made two free throws and two baskets to extend the lead out to eight points with less than two and a half minutes to play. Although Hester hit yet another three pointer to close the lead to five with 32 seconds remaining, Gibson, Low, and Sales combined to make five of six free throws down the stretch to provide the final margin.
Sales led the charge offensively with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Brown and Gibson joined him in double figures with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Ford and Low also had standout performances, as Ford hit three three-pointers and finished with nine points while Low had six points and three rebounds, taking multiple charges on the defensive end of the floor.