Tusculum College led nearly wire-to-wire and defeated Catawba College 60-50 in a South Atlantic Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Goodman Gymnasium.

Tommy Klempin and Justin Steigerwald led a balanced attack with 11 points apiece and Neal Spinks added 10 points and a season-high six rebounds for the Pioneers (9-15, 6-10 SAC), who brought a three-game losing streak to an end with the victory over the Indians (7-17, 4-12 SAC).

Stuart Thomson paced Catawba with a game-high 16 points and Keon Moore added 12 points and seven rebounds, but the Indians shot 35.8 percent (19-for-53) including a dismal 3-for-21 from three-point range. Tusculum hit just 42.9 percent (21-for-49) of its shots, but finished 17-for-22 at the free-throw line to help close out the victory.

In addition to his 11 points, Klempin grabbed six rebounds to share the team lead and blocked a pair of shots. Steigerwald was one of four Pioneers to pull four rebounds, and also dished out a pair of assists and made three steals. Tusculum came up with 12 steals off Catawba's 17 turnovers, turning the miscues into 19 points.

"We did not put ourselves in good positions defensively early in the game, but they corrected it. I didn't have to tell them anything other than to do their job," said Pioneer head coach Michael Jones. "I thought Justin Steigerwald was absolutely amazing on defense once again for us, and Neal Spinks did a great job on the offensive glass. Any win on the road in this conference is a plus, and we'll take it."

Tusculum scored eight straight points to take a 16-6 lead on a layup by Darius Carter with 8:49 left in the first half. Trailing 26-19 with 2 1/2 minutes to go before halftime, Catawba closed the half with six straight points to trim the margin to 26-25 at the break.

Daniel O'Conner and Spinks were the top scorers for the Pioneers in the first half with six points apiece, while Justin Huntley led the Indians with six points as well.

Catawba took its only lead of the game at 27-26 in the opening minute of the second half on a basket by Tyrece Little, but Tusculum regained the edge seconds later on a layup by Klempin. The Pioneers built a 35-29 lead following a three-point lead by Klempin with 17:22 left, only to see the Indians close within two points on five separate occasions. The last time came at 50-48 with just over two minutes left, and Neal Spinks came through to double the lead as he scored on a putback with 1:21 to go to give the Pioneers a 52-48 lead.

Catawba would score just twice more, on two free throws by Thomson with 46 seconds left, while Tusculum was a perfect 8-for-8 at the stripe in the final minute. Kevin Vest hit four free throws in the final 60 seconds, while Klempin and Steigerwald each connected on a pair to help Tusculum build a double-digit lead in the final seconds.

Vest finished with nine points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Pioneers, and Nicholas Spinks added seven points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Carter and O'Conner each tallied six points as all seven Pioneers who saw action finished with at least six points and two rebounds.

Tusculum will wrap up the regular season with two home games next week, beginning Wednesday at 6 p.m. against Lenoir-Rhyne at Pioneer Arena.