SALISBURY, N.C. --- Tusculum College converted on 58 percent from the field as the Pioneers recorded a 59-54 road victory at Catawba College in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Goodman Gym.
Tusculum (7-9, 4-2 SAC) posts its third straight win, all coming on the road, while the Catawba Indians (5-9, 1-5 SAC) suffer their fifth consecutive defeat.
Junior center Tommy Klempin (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) led the Tusculum attack shooting 7-of-11 from the floor for his 15 points. Junior guard Justin Steigerwald (Cincinnati, Ohio) added 11 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Kevin Vest (Dayton, Ohio) scored nine points and dished out seven assists in the victory.
The Pioneers finished the afternoon shooting 58.1 percent from the floor, including 15-of-25 in the first half (60%) in the first half and 56% in the second half, canning 25-of-43 shots.
Catawba was led by freshman Keon Moore (Colerain, N.C.), who tallied 14 points while Justin Huntley (Mooresville, N.C.) scored 10 points and Kejuan Mayo (South Bostian, Va.) pulled down seven rebounds. Catawba hit on just 18-of-48 shots, shooting identical 9-of-24 (37.5%) for each half.
Tusculum led virtually the entire contest, trailing only briefly at 11-9 after a basket by Mayo at the 13:34 mark of the opening half. The Pioneers used a 10-3 spurt to take a 28-21 lead on a layup by senior forward Rob Troutman (Mt. Washington, Ky.) with just over two minutes left in the half and took a 32-28 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, Catawba pulled even with the Pioneers when Trey Shoemaker (Charlotte, N.C.) hit a jumper with 9:40 left to cap a 7-0 run, but the Pioneers answered with six straight markers, the last four on back-to-back buckets by Klempin.
Catawba cut the lead to a basket several times down the stretch, but could not pull even. After Moore pulled the Indians within 56-54 on a three-pointer with 23 seconds to go, Vest canned two free throws and Klempin added another in the final seconds after a Catawba missed shot to seal the victory and level the all-time series at 15-15 between the two programs.
Klempin paced a post attack that saw the Pioneers out-score Catawba by a 36-14 margin in the paint, including 22-6 in the opening half. Tusculum also won the rebound battle, 29-25.
Tusculum's four league victories have all come on the road, marking the first time the Pioneers have gone undefeated in its first four SAC contests since joining the conference in 1999.
Tusculum returns to Pioneer Arena for a four-game home-stand, beginning with Wednesday's 8 p.m. contest against SAC newcomer Anderson University.
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