GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Akeem Odusipe recorded his first collegiate double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Tusculum Pioneers defeated visiting Emory & Henry 84-72 Thursday afternoon at Pioneer Arena in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action.
The Pioneers (6-8, 4-4 SAC) record back-to-back victories for the first time this year and complete the season-sweep over the Wasps (4-12, 1-7 SAC).
TU used runs of 13-0 and 18-4 in the first half to take a 47-30 lead into the locker room. Tusculum pushed its advantage out to as much as 25 in the final period before the Wasps made things interesting in the final two minutes before TU settled for the 12-point victory.
Tusculum senior Connor Jordan scored 20 points for his third 20-point performance in his last four games and fifth of the season. He scored 16 points in the first half while he also dished out three assists in his 25 minutes of action. Josiah Morris added 15 markers, while Jacob Hobbs tallied eight points and a career-best five assists.
Odusipe notched his fourth game with double-figure rebounds but records his first career double-double. He went 5-of-8 from the field and played in a season-best 31 minutes.
Emory & Henry's Jacob Dar came off the bench and scored a game-high 30 points including 17 in second half. He went 10-of-15 from the floor including 4-of-7 from three-point territory and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed five rebounds and was credited with two blocked shots and a pair of steals.
Eleven different Pioneers found their way into the scoring column including four points apiece by Bryce Jackson and Travis Pourciau.
Tusculum finished the game shooting 53.3 percent from the field and recorded a season-high 20 assists on its 32 made field goals which included nine 3-pointers. TU also won the rebound battle by a 37-31 advantage.
Tusculum head coach J.T. Burton records his 90th win with the Pioneers which are the third-most in program history and needs two more victories to surpass Hall of Fame coach Folly Malone (91 from 1976-1983).
The Pioneers will wrap up its three-game home-stand on Saturday when they host Catawba College in a rematch of last year's SAC Tournament semifinal.
