GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum used a pair of runs at the end of each half as the Pioneers rallied from a 12-point deficit to defeat arch-rival Carson-Newman, 67-61 Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action.
The Pioneers (6-7, 3-2 SAC) snap a three-game losing streak, while posting their third straight victory over the Eagles (9-6, 2-3 SAC).
Tusculum was paced by Kevin Vest's 22 points as he dished out a career-high seven assists and shot 11-of-11 from the free throw line. Jordan Davidson added 15 points and six rebounds, while Justin Steigerwald and Dionte Grey added seven markers apiece.
Carson-Newman's Ismael Sanders scored 17 points as he shot 7-of-9 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from three-point land and led the visitors with four assists and three steals. Marcellous Perez finished with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while Antoine Davis accounted for 10 points and seven boards in the loss.
The Eagles erupted on a 15-2 run in the first half to take a 27-15 lead at the 8:07 mark. Carson-Newman used a barrage of three-pointers in the spurt, including two by Perez and one by Kevin Leatherwood.
Tusculum answered with 17 unanswered points over a span of eight minutes to take a 32-27 lead. Vest scored 10 points during the 17-0 run, including 5-of-5 from the free throw line, including a three-point play and a three-pointer. During that span, the Eagles missed six field goal attempts and a pair of free throws during the eight-minute drought. Eagles' Kevin Hare snapped the skid with layup with seven seconds remaining as Tusculum led 32-29 at the intermission.
"I have talked a lot about the progression of this team and what I think we saw tonight was a great indicator of that progression," said Tusculum head coach Michael Jones. "Those are the two best runs this team has made against an opponent this season. We stayed composed, and we didn't get real shook when we were down pretty big, because being down by 12 points in the first half; it could have got really ugly."
Tusculum scored the first bucket of the second half, but the Eagles answered with a 21-7 to take a 50-41 lead with 10 minutes left in the game, following a Leatherwood three-pointer.
Back came the Pioneers with a 12-0 run over the next 4:25 to retake the lead for good at 53-50 with 5:35 left in the contest. Vest led the charge once again as he scored seven of the dozen points, including four straight free throws and a three-pointer.
C-N got a jumper by Perez to pull within one at 53-52, but Tusculum followed with a 12-3 spurt to take its largest lead of the night at 65-55 with 1:10 left thanks to a pair of free throws by Tommy Klempin to put the game out of reach.
"We did a better job of taking care of the basketball and not turning it over," Jones added. "We are getting stops on the defensive end, coming up with rebounds and then coming down to the offensive end and executing; I believe we showed a lot of maturity and growth and that is very exciting and that is exactly what we want to see."
Tusculum finished the game shooting 48.8 percent from the floor, including 11-of-21 in the second half (52.4%). TC also won the rebound-battle by a 29-23 margin, while shooting a sizzling 19-of-21 from the foul line (90.5%).
Tusculum also committed 15 turnovers on the night (four below its average), including only six miscues in the final 20 minutes.
Vest's 11-of-11 free throw performance ties for the fifth-best outing at the line in recorded Tusculum history.
The Pioneers close out its three-game home-stand this Saturday with a 4 p.m. SAC contest against Catawba. Saturday is "Pack the Arena" Day with free admission for all fans in attendance.
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