NEWBERRY, S.C. --- TJ Brown poured in a season-high 25 points to lead the Newberry Wolves to a 73-66 win over visiting Tusculum Wednesday afternoon in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action at Eleazer Arena.
Newberry (3-2, 3-2 SAC) snapped a four-game losing streak to the Pioneers while playing in only its second home game of the season. The two teams will meet again on Feb. 6 in Greeneville.
Tusculum (5-2, 5-2 SAC) drops out of first place in the league standings while being held to a season-low 66 points, 23 points below its seasonal average entering the contest (89.2 ppg).
TJ Brown finished the game shooting 8-of-13 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point territory and 7-of-10 from the foul line. Marcus Ford tallied 17 points while going 4-of-8 from beyond the arch and Quandaveon McCollum notched his second double-double of the year with 12 points and a season-high 11 rebounds for the Wolves.
Tusculum's Trenton Gibson finished with season-lows with 13 points and one assist to go along with five rebounds and a pair of steals. Brandon Mitchell posted 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting while freshman Inady Legiste tallied nine points and a team-high seven rebounds. DyQuavis Wilkins had six points, while Justin Mitchell and a Zack Dixon tallied five markers apiece.
Newberry finished the game shooting 24-of-54 from the floor for 44 percent including 8-of-17 from long range (47%). Tusculum shot 24-of-58 from the field for 41 percent and 12-of-15 from the free throw stripe (80%). TU was out-rebounded for a fourth consecutive game as the Wolves held a 41-31 advantage on the glass including 17 offensive boards resulting into 18 second-chance points for Newberry.
Tusculum got on the board first with a three-pointer by Justin Mitchell, but the Wolves answered with a 10-2 run to take a 10-5 lead 5:26 into the contest. With Newberry leading 19-17, the Wolves made another push with a 13-3 spurt to take its largest lead of the game at 32-20 with 3:38 remaining before halftime.
The Pioneers would score the final four points of the half on a Justin Mitchell jumper and two free throws from Wilkins as Newberry took a 36-28 lead into the locker room. Brown led the charge for the hosts scoring 16 of his 25 markers in the first period.
Tusculum continued its run into the second half as Brandon Mitchell drained a jumper and Gibson followed with a triple to cut the deficit to 36-33 with 17:30 remaining.
Baskets from Ford and McCollum pushed the lead back to seven (40-33), but Keaston Brown had five straight points including a layup and a three-pointer.
Newberry's Tai Giger hit a jumper to give the Wolves a 45-38 advantage, but 8-3 run thanks to a Legiste three-point play, a Wilkins bucket and a Gibson trifecta brought the Pioneers to within two points at 48-46 with 12:32 left.
With the Wolves lead 52-50 with just over 10 minutes left, Newberry scored eight straight including an Andrew Robinson three-pointer as the hosts pushed its lead back to double-digits at 60-50 with 6:32 remaining on the clock.
TU answered with a 7-0 run over the next 2:10 as Gibson made a layup, Keaston Brown hit from downtown and Wilkins made two more free throws as the Pioneers trailed 60-57 with 4:45 on the scoreboard.
Newberry had an answer as the Wolves recorded a 9-2 including a Ford three-pointer and 6-of-6 shooting at the charity stripe combined by TJ Brown, Robin Ledford and McCollum over the next three minutes as the Wolves led 69-59 with 89 seconds on the clock.
The Pioneers tried to chip away at the deficit and got as close as 71-66 with 25 seconds left after two free throws from Dixon, but it would not be enough as the Wolves held on for the victory.
Tusculum returns home on Saturday to face the Coker Cobras as 4 p.m. at Pioneer Arena.
