MARS HILL, N.C. --- Tusculum's Inady Legiste recorded his fifth consecutive double-double as the Pioneers posted an 87-76 South Atlantic Conference victory over Mars Hill Saturday afternoon at Stanford Arena.
Tusculum (5-1, 2-1 SAC) defeats the Lions (2-5, 0-2 SAC) for a sixth straight time and have been victorious in 13 of the last 14 meetings between the cross-mountain rivals.
Tusculum head coach J.T. Burton also recorded his 73rd win with the Pioneers, which ties him for fourth all-time in TU coaching victories, equaling the total posted by Larry McClements from 1954-1960.
Legiste established a career-high with his 25 markers while also hauling down 11 rebounds. He went 10-of-14 from the field including a pair of three-pointers and shot 3-of-4 from the free throw line.
He was one of four Pioneers to reach double-figures on the day. Connor Jordan scored 14 points for his fourth game in double figures. The duo of Jalen Crowder and Justin Mitchell tallied a dozen points each in the victory.
Mars Hill's Kory Davis scored a team-high 20 points, while Rajuan Conner accounted for 14 points and six rebounds. Marvin Hires came off the bench to contribute 12 points, while Trey Belin scored 11 as the Lions lost for a fifth straight game.
TU finished the game shooting 51 percent from the floor including 16-of-30 in the second half (53.3%). Mars Hill shot 44.8 percent in the game which included a sizzling 17-of-31 in the final 20 minutes as the Lions trimmed a 22-point deficit in the second half down to eight points later in the contest.
The Pioneers used a 27-8 run in a span of 7:30 covering the first and second halves to vault out to a 19-point lead (52-33). TU pushed its advantage out to as many as 22 (72-50) following a three-point play and a dunk by Mitchell as the Pioneers took its largest lead of the game with 7:39 to go.
Mars Hill would not give up as the Lions put together a 16-6 run to trail 80-72 with 1:27 remaining. The Pioneers would make its final four free throws and got a dunk by Legiste in the final seconds to preserve the TU victory.
Tusculum out-rebounded MHU by a 43-32 margin as the Pioneers connected on seven 3-pointers and shot 20-of-31 from the charity stripe for 65 percent. MHU connect on four triples and shot 57.1 percent from the line (20-of-35).
For Legiste, he becomes the first Pioneer since Chase Mounce in 2015 to record five straight double-doubles. Legiste currently leads the conference in scoring (20.3 ppg) and rebounding (10.2 rpg).
The Pioneers return home for the final time this calendar year when they host SAC newcomer Emory & Henry in the 100th recorded meeting between TU and the Wasps. Tip-off time is set for 7:30 p.m.
