GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's basketball team finds itself atop the South Atlantic Conference standings and will be looking to stay there when they play twice this week.
After an 0-2 start to the season, the Pioneers (2-2, 2-0 SAC) have bounced back with back-to-back league victories including a 73-69 home win over arch-rival Carson-Newman and followed with an 86-74 road victory at Catawba.
With the Thanksgiving holiday this week, Tusculum makes the quick turnaround and will play a rare Tuesday contest when they host league co-leader Limestone (3-1, 2-0 SAC) and will wrap up the week with a Saturday afternoon trip to UVA Wise (0-4, 0-2 SAC).
Tusculum welcomed 2021 SAC Player of the Trenton Gibson back to the lineup last week after missing the season's first two games due to injury. He came off the bench and poured in 23 points against Carson-Newman and contributed 21 markers in TU's third straight win over Catawba.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
The Pioneers averaged just 30 rebounds per game in their first two contests, but Tusculum has turned the tables and have returned to their dominance on the glass and posting 45 boards per game in its last two wins. That total also includes 17 offensive rebounds in each of those victories.
TU head coach J.T. Burton has guide the Pioneers to an impressive 31-12 record in SAC games in his three-plus seasons in Greeneville (2018-present). TU's win over Carson-Newman was the 200th in Burton's 12-year collegiate head coaching career and 50th overall at the helm of the Pioneer program.
The Pioneers continue to shine from long-range and are shooting 43.3 percent from three-point territory which is second in the league and 16th in the country. TU is also averaging 10.5 treys per contest which are fourth in the SAC and 37th in NCAA Division II.
Gibson is averaging 22 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, but has only been credited with two total assists on the year. He also has two steals, including one at Catawba which was the 100th of his career. Gibson continues his climb up the Tusculum scoring charts as his 1,234 career points are 19th in program history and is 13 points away of surpassing Jeremy Fortner (1248 from 1996-2000) for 18th position.
Virginia State transfer William Vedder has been an outstanding addition to the TU lineup this year. The forward from Washington, D.C. is averaging 16.3 points (9th in SAC) and 6.3 rebounds per game. He is coming off his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday at Catawba. Vedder is shooting 59.1 percent from the floor and is 6-of-12 from three-point land.
Junior Justin Mitchell is third on the team in scoring with his 9.0 points per game average, while hauling in a team-best 6.8 rebounds per contest (10th in SAC) and is the only player to start in all four games this year.
True freshman guard KJ Crump is averaging 8.5 points and 2.5 assists per game and has made three starts at the point guard spot for the Pioneers.
Graduate student Brandon Mitchell has posted 8.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest. He hauled in five boards on Saturday to move him in to seventh place on Tusculum's all-time rebounds list (633). His 173 career blocked shots are a Tusculum record and needs four more rejections to move into the SAC top-10. His career block total is the most by an active DII player.
Senior guard James West IV has posted 7.5 points per game and is second on the team with 1.75 three-pointers per contest. The 2021 All-SAC choice has played in all four games this season with a pair of starts where he is averaging 20 minutes per game.
Sophomore forward Inady Legiste is averaging 7.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while posting solid shooting numbers across the board (.524 FG%, .667 3FG%, .800 FT%). He also leads the team averaging 1.0 blocked shots per game (5th in SAC).
SCOUTING LIMESTONE
One of the early surprises in the South Atlantic Conference this season has been the Limestone Saints. After going 2-11 last season and finished next to last in the league standings (2-10), the Saints are off to a 3-1 start including wins over Erskine (80-74), UVA Wise (82-72) and Newberry (62-59).
The Saints won only two conference games in its first year as a full SAC member, but one of this victories came in a 68-61 triumph over Tusculum in Gaffney.
Leading the charge for Limestone is senior Ayo Dada who is coming off strong performances against Wise and Newberry. Against UVA Wise, he poured in a game-high 21 points while grabbing five rebounds. He followed with Saturday's 18 points in the a come-from-behind win at Newberry. Dada is averaging 16.3 points, while Ben Gahlert is tallying 15.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest.
SCOUTING UVA WISE
The Highland Cavaliers enter the week winless including Saturday's 104-95 slugfest setback at Anderson. UVA Wise shot 52.3 percent from the floor and buried 12 three-pointers. Before tangling with the Pioneers on Saturday, Wise will host Mars Hill on Tuesday in the Cavs' home-opener.
In the loss at Anderson, five UVA Wise players scored in double figures including junior Kaeleb Carter who posted a career-best 29 points. Carter sits in third in SAC scoring with his 19.3 points per game average while teammate Makai Vassell sits in third in the league with his 9.3 rebounds per outing average.
SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday will be the 13th meeting between the Pioneers and Saints. Limestone leads the series 9-3 and have won two straight over TU including last year's 68-61 victory in Gaffney. Limestone won the first six meetings in the series which began on Nov. 14, 1981. Three meetings of the series came in the 1997-98 campaign alone. TU won in Boiling Springs, North Carolina in the consolation game of the Gardner-Webb Invitational. TU also won the rematch in Gaffney, 82-65 on Jan. 10, 1998. This will be Limestone's first trip to Greeneville since 1998.
On Saturday, it will be the 37th recorded meeting between Tusculum and UVA Wise. TU has swept the season series with the Cavaliers in each of the last two seasons. In 2019-20, Tusculum and UVA Wise renewed a conference rivalry for the first time since the two schools were members of the Tennessee-Virginia Athletic Conference (TVAC). At that time, UVA Wise was referred to as Clinch Valley College. TU leads the series 24-12 and have won the last six meetings and 12 of the last 14 encounters between the Pioneers and the Cavaliers.
TICKETS
Tickets for 2021-22 Tusculum home basketball games are $10 for all entrants and children 12 and under will be admitted free. Tusculum students will be admitted free with a valid Tusculum ID.
FOLLOW THE PIONEERS
Fans can watch the action of Tusculum men's basketball all season at www.TusculumPioneers.com on the Pioneer Sports Network and the SAC Digital Network. The radio call of the games will also be available locally on WSMG Radio on 95.5 FM and 1450 AM, as well as online at https://jewel955.com/listenlive.
