WINGATE, N.C. --- Sophomore Dionte Grey scored the game-winning lay-up with 7.6 seconds remaining in the second overtime period as the Tusculum College men's basketball team defeated host Wingate University 76-74 Sunday night at Cuddy Arena in a South Atlantic Conference thriller.
The Pioneers (5-9, 2-2 SAC) snap a four-game losing skid, while halting the Bulldogs' (7-5, 2-2 SAC) four-game winning streak. It was also Tusculum's fourth straight win over Wingate.
Grey (Johnson City, Tenn.) finished the night with 10 points as he was one of five Pioneers to score in double figures. Senior Rob Troutman (Mt. Washington, Ky.) tallied 24 points as he buried a career-best six 3-pointers. Junior Tommy Klempin (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) posted 16 points, including 14 markers after halftime, while juniors Kevin Vest (Dayton, Ohio) and Justin Steigerwald (Cincinnati, Ohio) accounted for 10 points each.
Wingate's Jaime Vaughn (McDonough, Ga.) was responsible for 24 points, while shooting 9-of-16 from the floor, including a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point territory. Odell Turner finished with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Quan Alexander (Charlotte, N.C.) tallied 10 points and nine boards in the loss.
There were many heroes for the Pioneers in Sunday's victory. Grey kept Tusculum's hopes alive in the first overtime period coming up with a critical offensive rebound following a missed free throw attempt, setting up Vest's game-tying jumper with 2.2 seconds left to send the game into a second extra frame.
In the first half, Tusculum used a 10-0 run, capped off by a Troutman trey as TC led 18-9 with 5:27 remaining before halftime. Wingate would cut the deficit to three at 18-15, but TC would close out the half with an 8-2 spurt, including a pair of three-pointers by Troutman with the second one coming at the buzzer as TC took a 26-17 lead into the locker room.
Tusculum built its advantage to as many as 13 as Troutman knocked down two more treys to start the second half as the Pioneers led 34-21 with 17:15 left in regulation.
Wingate would battle back using a 9-2 run over a span of three minutes to tie the game at 44-44 following a three-point play by Mike Tarkersley (Hampton, Ga.) at the 5:12 mark of the second half. The Bulldogs would take its first lead since the 9:41 mark of the first period when Vaughn connected on a three-pointer with 4:20 left on the clock.
The lead would bounce back-and-forth with TC taking a 55-53 advantage with 1:29 left following a three-point play on Klempin's tip-in. Wingate tied the game for the fifth time when Alexander converted a tip-in of his own at the 1:09 mark. Both teams had chances to win the game in regulation, getting shots off in the paint in the final moments of the contest, but none would fall.
In the first overtime period, Vaughn connected on back-to-back three-pointers as Wingate led 62-58 with 2:20 left on the scoreboard. TC kept in striking distance thanks to a pair of baskets by Steigerwald, the later coming with 38 seconds remaining as TC trailed 64-62.
But on the next possession, Steigerwald was whistled for his fifth personal foul with 20 seconds left, sending Vaughn to the foul line where he made his two free throws to put the Bulldogs back up by four (66-62).
Sophomore Brett Williams (Oviedo, Fla.) was fouled with 10 seconds left, sending him to the charity stripe where he calmly connected on a critical pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 66-64. TC rookie Sean Rowe (Tyrone, Ga.) stole the in-bounds pass by Vaughn and was fouled with six seconds remaining.
Rowe would miss both free throws, but a hustling Dionte Grey came up with the rebound and the assist to Vest who banked in the bucket with 2.2 seconds left, sending Tusculum to its first, double-overtime contest in 21 seasons.
With Wingate leading 72-70 in the second overtime, Klempin came up with an offensive rebound and put-back to tie the game for a 10th time at 72-72 with 1:40 left. Alexander missed his jumper on the next possession and Williams came up with the rebound. Klempin was fouled with 48 seconds left as he made both free throws to give the Pioneers a 74-72 lead.
Wingate's next possession was a wild one as the Bulldogs got off six shots in a wild 17-second frenzy which was capped off by a made jumper from Turner to level the contest at 74-74 with 21 seconds remaining.
Following a timeout, the Pioneers worked the ball for the last shot as Grey drove down the lane and connected on the game-winning lay-up with less than eight seconds left. Wingate would get the ball to midcourt and called a timeout with 3.8 seconds remaining.
Vaughn put up a jumper to tie the game, but his shot went off the rim and was hauled in by Alexander, but his tip-in came after the buzzer, clinching the Pioneers' first double-overtime victory since Dec. 5, 1985 when TC defeated Milligan College 93-91 at Pioneer Gym.
Grey finished the night shooting 5-of-7 from the floor, while recording five points and four assists in his 45 minutes of action. Vest shot 5-of-8 from the field and grabbed five boards in his 49 minutes of work. Troutman went 6-of-12 from beyond the arc and tallied six rebounds, while playing in 49 minutes.
Klempin, who experienced early foul trouble, shot 5-of-7 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. He also hauled in nine rebounds, including a career-best seven on the offensive glass.
Tusculum continues its three-game road swing on Wednesday night as the Pioneers travel to Jefferson City to face in-state rival Carson-Newman College for an 8 p.m. SAC contest at Holt Fieldhouse.
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