GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's basketball team will close out the 2020-2021 regular season this week as TU hosts Lenoir-Rhyne University on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. from Pioneer Arena.

The Pioneers (11-4, 11-4 SAC) are riding a five-game winning streak heading into the contest and are currently in sole possession of third place in the South Atlantic Conference standings.

With first place Lincoln Memorial announcing it was pausing team activities due to COVID protocols, along with UVA Wise doing the same as well, the upcoming Pilot / Flying J SAC Basketball Championship will now be an 11-team tournament with the top-five teams earning a bye into Monday's quarterfinal round.

Regardless of Wednesday's outcome with Lenoir-Rhyne, the Pioneers secured the No. 2 seed in next week's SAC Tournament and will host a quarterfinal game this coming Monday night at Pioneer Arena against an opponent yet to be determined.

LAST WEEK

The Pioneers went 2-0 last week, highlighted by Wednesday's 90-74 dismantling of eighth-ranked Lincoln Memorial. The duo of James West IV and Trenton Gibson scored 22 points each, while freshman Inady Legiste added 13 points and sophomore Justin Mitchell posted 12 points and a career-high five steals in the victory.

Tusculum followed that performance with an 81-67 win at Coker University on Saturday. West was TU's top player as he poured in a career-best 26 points on eight 3-pointers. Gibson added 16 markers, Justin Mitchell scored nine points and Brandon Mitchell added seven markers and two blocked shots including 159^th of his career which tied the program record with former All-SAC forward Brad Hawks (2001-2004).

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS

Coach JT Burton has guided the Pioneers to their third straight winning campaign during this unique season and has Tusculum poised for a strong postseason run.  Tusculum is looking for its first six-game winning streak since the end of the 2018-19 season in Burton's first year in Greeneville.

The Pioneers lead the SAC in three defensive categories including blocked shots (4.4 bpg – 12^th in NCAA II), steals per game (8.8 spg – 15^th in NCAA II) and three-point field goal percentage defense (29.9% - 11^th in NCAA II). TU also leads the league in offensive rebounding (14.13 rpg – 11^th in NCAA II) and is third in the SAC in total rebounds per contest (40.8 rpg – 16^th in NCAA II).

Wednesday is Senior Night for the Pioneers as forward Brandon Mitchell will be honored in pre-game ceremonies. Mitchell is poised to take sole possession of the career blocked shots record, while appearing in his 101^st career game. His 581 career rebounds are the 10^th most in program history while his 5.81 rebounds per game average is ninth in the TU record book. He has totaled 677 career points, 65 assists and 73 steals while starting in 72 of his 100 games as a Pioneer.

He holds the TU single-season record with 62 blocked shots in his 32 outings last year and was one of the top offensive rebounders in the country totaling 116 last season, for an impressive 3.63 rebounds per game average, just on the offensive end of the floor.

Junior guard Trenton Gibson leads the way for the Pioneers averaging 18.8 points per game which is fourth-best in the league. He is third in the SAC with his 7.7 rebounds per game average and fourth with 4.8 assists per game. He is the only player in the conference listed in the top-five statistically in scoring, rebounding and assists. He is also sixth in the SAC averaging 1.53 steals per game and is second in the conference with his 102 free throws made (4^th in NCAA II) and 124 free throw attempts (7^th in NCAA II).

Gibson is the only player to start in all 15 games this season and has scored in double figures in all but one. He has scored 10 or more points in his last nine games averaging 18.7 ppg during that span.

Gibson is 22^nd all-time in the 110-year history of Tusculum basketball with his 1,096 career points. He is already listed in the program's top-10 in assists (301 – 10^th), assist average (3.96 apg – 7^th), rebound average (6.14 rpg – 6^th), free throws made (338 – 6^th), free throw attempts (425 – T6th) and free throw percentage (79.5% - 7^th). He is also five steals away from the 100^th of his career.

After missing seven games due to injury, James West IV has emerged as one of the hottest players in the league. He is averaging 17.4 points per contest including a sizzling 22.5 ppg since his return to the line-up on Feb. 3. He poured in a career-best 26 points on Saturday, following his 22-point effort in the upset win over No. 8 Lincoln Memorial.

The Mount St. Mary transfer is shooting 50 percent from the floor and 47.8 percent from three-point territory. He is averaging four 3-pointers per game this season, including 5.5 treys per contest in his last four games. His eight triples on Saturday at Coker are tied for the seventh most in TU history.

Rookie forward Inady Legiste is making a strong case for SAC Freshman of the Year consideration averaging 8.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game (14th in SAC) while leading the team in field goal percentage at (.495 – 13th in SAC). Legiste is also second on the roster in blocked shots, averaging 1.33 rejections per game, which are fourth in the league and 50^th in NCAA II. He tallied 13 points off the bench in last Wednesday's win over Lincoln Memorial.

Sophomore Joshua Scott is fourth on the team with his 7.2 points per game average. Scott is also pulling down 4.3 rebounds per game. Sophomore Justin Mitchell has accounted for 7.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game for the Pioneers in his 14 outings including seven starts. He is averaging 10.8 points per game in his last four outings including a dozen points and a career-best five steals against LMU. He also has scored a career-best 15 in a home win against Mars Hill earlier this month.

Sophomore Keaston Brown is averaging 6.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per contest as he has played in all 15 games including 12 starts. Brown is second on the team in assists, dishing out 2.4 helpers per game and is tied for the team-lead in steals posting 1.53 per game (6th in SAC).

SCOUTING THE BEARS

The Lenoir-Rhyne Bears come to Greeneville following Monday's 91-80 road loss at in-state rival Catawba on the Indians' Senior Night. Since coming out of COVID protocol on Feb. 13, the Bears have dropped three of its last four games with home losses against Anderson and UVA Wise. L-R's lone win of the month came in a 71-65 victory over Mars Hill.

Lenoir-Rhyne is tied for fifth-place in the conference standings with an 8-5 record with Newberry. A win by the Bears against Tusculum would clinch the No. 4 seed in next week's SAC Tournament and would host Newberry in a quarterfinal game. A loss by Lenoir-Rhyne, coupled by a win by Newberry over Coker and the Wolves would host the Bears in Monday's quarterfinal.

Lenoir-Rhyne head coach Everick Sullivan is wrapping up his fifth season in Hickory where he has guided the storied L-R program which is celebrating its 100^th season this year. He has guided the Bears to six wins against ranked teams including twice this year, snapping No. 2 LMU's 39-game winning streak and followed with a home win over ranked Queens.

Prior to the COVID pause, Lenoir-Rhyne was rolling with a 7-2 record including three straight victories over Queens, Wingate and Coker.

Darius Simmons leads the Bears averaging 17.2 points per game while shooting a sizzling 89.3 percent from the free throw line. He posted a season-best 25 points in Monday's game at Catawba where he went 11-of-16 from the floor. He also had 23 points in the Bears' upset win over LMU.

Forward R.J. Gunn is second on the team offensive averaging 15.9 points per contest (9^th in SAC) and shooting 42.3 percent from three-point land (12^th in SAC). Gunn has eclipsed 20 points on five occasions this year including in each of his last two games. He posted 24 markers last Wednesday against UVA Wise and had 21 at Catawba.

SERIES HISTORY

This will be the 52nd meeting between Tusculum and Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears own a 31-20 edge in the series and have won four of the last seven encounters and seven of the last 11. Tusculum swept last year's season series and have won The two teams first met on Jan. 13, 1926 as the Bears came away with the win.

FOLLOW THE GAME

Special Note: Wednesday's game with Lenoir-Rhyne will be aired on WIKQ-FM (103.1 FM) with the "Voice of the Pioneers" Brian Stayton describing all the action on-line at http://greeneville.com/wgrv/. Live video and live statistics will also be available on the Tusculum athlete web site: www.TusculumPioneers.com.