ROME, Ga. – Phil Taylor broke the Gulf South Conference's single-game scoring record with 62 points in a 109-86 win over the Carver College Cougars.

Prior to Monday night, the GSC record stood at 51 points, set during the 1991-92 season by Floyd Patterson of West Alabama; while Taylor's previous best was 46 points in a December 2015 contest against the North Georgia Nighthawks.

Taylor broke Shorter's single-game record last season in his 46-point performance, tallying one more point than the previous record held by Larry Throgmorton; who was inducted into the Shorter Hall of Fame in 2011. Throgmorton was a 1971 graduate of the University.

Taylor scored 40 of his 62 in the second half, helping the Hawks improve to 5-0.

Carver jumped out to a 26-15 lead in the first, but back-to-back three-pointers by freshman Damerit Brown helped Shorter stay close.

SU battled to tie the game twice, first on a Taylor layup, and again via a pair of free throws by Warren Helligar with 5:41 left in the opening half.

Taylor gave the Hawks the lead at the charity stripe and although the Cougars would tie the contest at 38, Shorter closed the half on an 11-2 run, which included threes by Cole Birchfield and Taylor. At the intermission, the Hawks led by 11, 51-40.

Carver rallied to take a one-point lead with 17-minutes to play, but Shorter stormed back and led by double digits, 66-56, less than three minutes later when Mike Wickliff connected from beyond the arc.

With 11:20 remaining in the game, Taylor took over. For 10:19, he almost single-handedly led Shorter, scoring all but four points as the team outscored Carver 34-18. He made five three-pointers during that stretch and ended his night 9 of 15 from deep.

Jalen Kirkland scored the Hawks final points of the 109-86 victory, which moves the team's record to 5-0 thus far.

Brown also contributed 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds, while Helligar added 10. Donovan Gardner led the Cougars with 15 points.

The Hawks shot 50.7% from the field, with Carver shooting a nearly identical percentage. Shorter won the rebounding battle, 38-35.

The Hawks return to action on Saturday at Lee for the first Gulf South Conference game of the season. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from Cleveland, Tennessee.