GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Julian Nelson scored 22 points to lead five players in double figures as Coker College defeated Tusculum College, 90-71 Saturday afternoon in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action.
The Cobras (14-12, 11-11 SAC) sweep the season series over Tusculum (3-25, 2-20 SAC) end their season. Coker advances to next week's Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament as the official bracket and seeding will be announced later.
Saturday was also Senior Day at Tusculum as Addison Flynn and JD Miller played in their final collegiate games.
Darius Carter led Tusculum with his 17 points, while Chase Mounce accounted for 12 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Neal Spinks contributed nine points and a team-high six rebounds, while Cory Fagan buried three 3-pointers for his nine points.
Coker's Errick Bethel finished with 14 points, while Larry Felder posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Trey Marshall added 10 points and four assists in the Cobras inaugural visit to Pioneer Arena.
In the opening half, Coker used an 18-6 run to take a 23-11 lead at the 11:53 mark of the period following a Bethel three-pointer. TC answered with a 12-3 spurt to trim the deficit to 26-23 after an offensive rebound a put-back by Mounce, 6:57 before halftime.
Marshall connected on a pair of free throws at the 2:55 mark to give the Cobras a 34-28 lead. TC closed out the half with an 8-2 run, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Fagan as Coker led 37-36 at the intermission.
The visitors went on a 10-2 run early in the second period to take a 55-46 advantage, capped off by a layup and three-pointer by Nelson with 15 minutes left in the contest.
TC cut the Coker lead back to four as Carter made a jumper in the paint and Spinks canned a pair of free throws as the Cobras led 61-57 with 9:48 left.
Coker erupted for a 15-1 run over the next 4:45 to take its largest lead of the contest at the point to 76-58 with 5:03 remaining. Spinks converted a three-point play to trim the deficit to 15, but that would be as close as the Pioneers would get.
Coker out-rebounded Tusculum by a 42-30 margin, including 15-7 on the offensive boards, resulting into 20 second-chance points. The Cobras shot 46 percent from the floor, while the Pioneers fired at a 45 percent clip. Coker made 23 of its 29 free throw attempts for 79 percent, including 9-of-10 in the opening half.
Flynn finished his final game with seven points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals. He ends his ends his two-year career at Tusculum with 736 points (13.6 ppg), 129 rebounds and 129 assists. His .398 career three-point field goal percentage is ninth-best in program history, while his .775 free throw percentage is 10th in the TC record book. His 79 three-pointers made this year are tied for the eighth-most ever by a Pioneer.
Miller played in 10 minutes as he earned his first start of his senior season that was plagued with injuries. He was held scoreless, but came up with three rebounds in his final Tusculum game. In his 81-game career, he posted 250 points and 171 rebounds as a Pioneer.
Carter claimed the team scoring title, finishing the year with 448 points (16.0 ppg). His 167 free throws made this year are the third-most ever by TC player.
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