Tusculum College erased a 12-point first-half deficit with three scoring runs, and defeated Brevard College 66-50 in a South Atlantic Conference men's basketball matchup Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.

The Pioneers (8-12, 5-7 SAC) went on runs of 10-2, 8-0 and 9-0 in the first half to snap a five-game losing streak and finish a sweep of the season series with the Tornados (3-19, 2-10 SAC), who have lost eight of their last nine contests.

Despite playing only seven players, five of them scored in double figures for Tusculum led by Justin Steigerwald's 14 points. Neal Spinks enjoyed his best game of the season as he finished with 12 points and three rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.

Darius Moose led all players with 16 points and six rebounds for Brevard, but the Tornados shot 41 percent (16-for-39) from the field in the game. Brevard was 0-for-4 from three-point range in the second half after sinking five in nine tries in the first half.

Also reaching double figures for Tusculum were Tommy Klempin and Kevin Vest with 11 points each, and Darius Carter with 10 off the bench. Carter also posted season highs of seven assists and four steals, both totals leading all players in the game.

"I'm very pleased with both Neal and Darius. These are freshmen, these are guys who are going to be on the court for us in years to come. To see them start getting more and more comfortable and filling some roles, that's very important for us," said Pioneer head coach Michael Jones. "Darius was very comfortable shooting the basketball and confident with the basketball in his hands. And there's no question that was the best game Neal's played this year. The things he was able to do around the rim were very important for us."

Tusculum got off to a shaky start as the Tornados hit three three-pointers in the first 4 1/2 minutes on their way to a 17-5 lead. The Pioneers answered with a 10-2 run to cut the margin to 19-15 on a putback by Spinks with 11:21 left in the half.

Another run, this one of eight straight points, erased a 25-18 deficit and gave the Pioneers their first lead of the game at 26-25 following a layup by Steigerwald with 3:49 left in the first half. Brevard briefly regained the lead on a basket by Gaither Hendrix, but Tusculum closed the half on a 9-0 surge capped by a layup by Steigerwald just before the buzzer to take a 35-27 lead to the break.

Spinks led all players with nine points off the bench in the first half for Tusculum, while Carter added eight points and four assists. Brevard was paced by Moose who scored seven points.

The Pioneers extended their run from the first half to 13-0 thanks to two free throws from Klempin and a jumper by Daniel O'Conner to go ahead 39-27 with 18:33 left. Brevard narrowed the deficit to nine at 41-32 on two free throws by Drew Schauss with 16:26 to play, but the Tornados would hit just two field goals over the next eight minutes as the Pioneers built their advantage to 17 points at 58-41 on a fast-break layup by Vest with 8:42 left.

Tusculum finished the game shooting 48 percent (24-for-50) from the field, to go with a 15-for-19 effort at the free-throw line. The Pioneers forced the Tornados into 20 turnovers, which they turned into 21 points, while committing only 12 turnovers themselves. Tusculum also controlled points in the paint by a 38-16 margin and received 22 points from its bench compared to eight by Brevard.

Schauss finished with eight points and four rebounds for the Tornados, and Michael Gist added six boards and a game-high four blocked shots, all in the first half. Brevard did finish with the rebound advantage in the game, by a slim 28-27 margin over Tusculum.

The Pioneers will be back on the court Wednesday night at 8 p.m. when they make the short trip to Jefferson City to battle SAC rival Carson-Newman.