JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. --- Senior guard Kyle Moore recorded 39 points to pace Tusculum College to a 77-51 South Atlantic Conference victory over Carson-Newman College, Saturday night at Holt Fieldhouse.
The Pioneers (14-10, 8-5 SAC) avenge last month's home loss to the Eagles (9-14, 4-8 SAC), while winning their eighth consecutive game over C-N in Jefferson City. The 26-point margin is also Tusculum's largest victory over their arch-rivals in recorded school history.
Moore (Gainesville, Fla.) recorded 28 second-half points, shooting 10-of-11 in the final 20 minutes. He finished the game going 12-of-18 from the floor and 12-of-12 from the free throw line. His 39-point performance is the third-best in his Tusculum career and tied for the 10th-most in league history.
Moore also eclipsed the 1,700-point plateau for his three-year TC career, moving into sole possession of fourth place on the Tusculum all-time scoring list with 1,712 points. He surpasses former All-Region forward Shane Banks (1,699 - 1996-2000), while also moving to seventh in SAC history.
TC senior forward Wes Taylor (Oregon, Ohio) posted a double-double with his 10 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Jimmy Boone (Greeneville, Tenn.) added 10 markers, shooting 3-of-5 from the field, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Junior Rob Troutman (Mt. Washington, Ky.) added nine points and six boards, while sophomore Justin Steigerwald (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished with five points and seven rebounds.
Carson-Newman's Tray Okoth was the lone Eagle in double-figures with 10 points, while the trio of Jordan Dixon, Cameron Sharp and Darron Maxtion each tallied eight markers in the loss.
Trailing 8-7 early in the first half, the Pioneers went on a 17-2 run to lead 24-10 with 6:50 left before the intermission. During the run, Boone canned a pair of three-pointers, while Moore also added six markers, including 4-of-4 from the foul line. TC would carry that momentum into the locker room as the Pioneers led 35-20 at the break.
Tusculum kept up the pressure, opening the half with a 12-3 spurt in the first 5:50 of the second period, capped off by a Moore three-point play with 14:10 left as TC led 47-23.
C-N would cut the deficit to 18 points on several occasions, but that would be as close as the Eagles would get. The Pioneers finished the game shooting 60 percent from the floor, 13-of-19 in the second half (68.4%). Tusculum also made 23 of its 26 free throw attempts for 88.5 percent.
With the win, the Pioneers move into a three-way tie for third place in the SAC standings (Lincoln Memorial and Mars Hill) and are only a half game behind league co-leaders Brevard and Catawba.
Tusculum will host Newberry College on Wednesday at 8 p.m. from Pioneer Arena. The Pioneers have won six of their last eight contests, including three in a row at home.
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