GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Darius Carter scored 26 points as Tusculum College withstood a record-setting performance from Bluefield State College guard Mark Durgan for a 100-92 victory in non-conference men's basketball action Monday night at Pioneer Arena.
Four Pioneers scored in double figures as Tusculum (12-14) reached the 100-point mark for the third consecutive game for the first time since the 1996-97 season. The Pioneers shot 51.4 percent (37-for-72) from the field and place four players in double figures to snap a three-game home losing streak.
Durgan poured home a game-high 46 points for the Big Blues (7-18), setting a Pioneer Arena record for most points in a game. Durgan went 18-for-32 from the field (2-for-5 on three-pointers) and 8-for-11 from the foul line in the contest, breaking the arena record of 42 points set by Walt Baxley of Mars Hill on Feb. 8, 2006 and matched by Kyle Moore of Tusculum on Nov. 22, 2008.
Chase Mounce finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots, moving him past 500 career rebounds and putting him 19 points shy of becoming the 24th player in Tusculum program history to score 1,000 career points. Zach Davis added 14 points and matched his career high with 12 rebounds and Javon Price scored 13 points for the Pioneers, who led by as many as 17 points midway through the second half before the Big Blues pulled within five in the final five minutes.
There were five ties and six lead changes in the first half, with Bluefield State taking its largest lead of the game at 29-26 on a three-pointer by Derrek Farr with 8:16 left in the half. Tusculum led 40-36 following two free throws by Durgan with 3:11 remaining in the half, but a basket by Mounce and a steal and dunk by Davis sparked a mini-run that pushed the Pioneer lead to 10 at 46-36 with 1:45 left in the half.
Tusculum led 52-44 at the break behind 12 points apiece from Mounce and Carter, along with 11 by Price. The Pioneers shot 52.4 percent (22-for-42) from the field as a team in the first half, while the Big Blues hit 44.1 percent (15-for-34) from the floor and went 7-for-17 from three-point range. Durgan led Bluefield State with 20 points in the opening half on 7-for-13 shooting.
Tusculum opened up a 62-46 lead on a foul shot by Carter with 17:02 remaining, and the lead stayed in double figures until Joshua Windham hit a three-pointer with 12:42 left to pull the Big Blues within 71-62. Tusculum used an 8-0 run to build its largest lead of the game at 81-64 following a three-pointer from Cory Fagan with 10:31 to go, and the lead was at 16 after a three-point play by Carter gave Tusculum an 88-72 advantage with 7:33 left.
However, Bluefield State went on an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 88-83 with 5:17 remaining. Durgan had six points during the spurt while Avery Holliday added five points and three rebounds during the surge by the Big Blues. However, Price hit two free throws with 4:52 left to push the lead back to seven for the Pioneers, and Mounce connected on a three-point play with 3:36 remaining to give Tusculum a 93-83 lead. A Carter three-pointer with 26 seconds left gave the Pioneers their 100th point of the night, putting Tusculum over the century mark for the third straight game.
Carter went 5-for-7 from the foul line and is now four made free throws shy of tying the school career record of 447 set by Moore from 2007-2010. Carter, who was 3-for-3 from three-point range, also had six rebounds and four assists in the game. His 26 points increased his career total to 1,294, putting him six points away from becoming the 12th player in program history to eclipse 1,300 career points.
Davis, who matched his career high of 12 rebounds set against Catawba on Dec. 15, 2014, also had a career-high four steals and matched his career best with two blocked shots. Zach Hartle came off the bench for the Pioneers to contribute seven points on 3-for-4 shooting, while Matt Shown tallied seven points and six rebounds in 14 minutes of action. Kendall Patterson also scored seven points for the Pioneers and had a game-high seven assists.
Windham also reached double figures for the Big Blues with 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while Farr tallied 11 points and four rebounds. Windham and James Day shared the team high in rebounds with seven, but Bluefield State was beaten on the glass by Tusculum by a margin of 42-36.
The Pioneers finished the game with 11 turnovers, which the Big Blues turned into 20 points, while Tusculum had 24 points off of 12 Bluefield State miscues in the contest. Both teams were active on the fast break, with Bluefield State scoring 26 points and Tusculum 23.
Tusculum will return to action Wednesday night at Mars Hill in a crucial South Atlantic Conference showdown. The Pioneers enter Wednesday's game at 7-13 in the conference, two games ahead of the Lions at 5-15 with two games remaining in the season. A Tusculum victory would clinch a spot in the SAC Men's Basketball Tournament for the Pioneers, who lost 110-98 to the Lions at home on Jan. 13. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m.
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