JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. --- Jalen Riley came off the bench to score a game-high 28 points and Rashawn Rembert added 26 points to pace East Tennessee State University to a 108-87 victory over Tusculum College in men's basketball action at the MSHA Athletics Center Monday night.
Rembert connected on six three-pointers for the Division I Buccaneers (5-6), who shot 53.8 percent from the field as a team and drilled 12 three-pointers in the victory over the Pioneers (1-11). Lester Wilson added 13 points and nine rebounds and Isaac Banks also reached double figures for ETSU with 12 points and nine boards in 24 minutes off the bench.
Addison Flynn led Tusculum with 20 points and Chase Mounce added a career-best 18 points, but the Pioneers were unable to keep up with the hot-shooting Bucs as they finished the game at 45.5 percent (30-for-66) from the field. Tusculum did hit 11 three-pointers in the game, including three each from Flynn, Darius Carter and BJ Fisher, in their first meeting with ETSU since 1958.
Tusculum jumped out to an early 12-8 lead as Mounce scored six points and Cory Fagan and Jalen Walker added three-pointers. However, back-to-back three-pointers from Rembert gave the Bucs a 16-14 lead with 12:26 left in the first half. Two free throws from Riley gave him 14 points and pushed ETSU ahead 35-24 with 6:41 to play in the half, and a three-point play from Kinard Gadsden-Gilliard helped send the Bucs to the locker room with a 49-35 lead over the Pioneers.
The Bucs shot an even 50 percent (17-for-34) from the field in the first half, and were led by Riley's 16 points with Rembert adding 13. Mounce paced the Pioneers in the first half with eight points, with seven each from Carter and Walker, but Tusculum shot 39.4 percent (13-for-33) as a team.
ETSU continued to build on its lead in the second half, going up 62-42 on a three-pointer by Wilson with 17:08 remaining. The Bucs took their largest lead of the game at 29 points when Petey McClain hit a three-pointer with 6:37 left for a 98-69 ETSU advantage. Tusculum scored the last seven points of the game, including consecutive three-pointers from Fisher in the final minute, to set the final margin.
The Bucs thrived at the foul line in the game, shooting 26-for-30 (88.9 percent) as a team. Riley was 13-for-14 from the stripe as ETSU surpassed 83 percent at the line in each half. Tusculum finished the game at 69.6 percent (16-for-23) at the free-throw line, led by Flynn who went 7-for-8.
Tusculum finished the contest with 13 of their 30 rebounds on the offensive glass. Mounce, Flynn and Keith Jumper shared the team high with five rebounds apiece, with Fagan and Zach Davis adding four each. Carter dished out a team-high five assists to go along with 13 points for the Pioneers, with Walker adding four assists to complement his 10 points in 23 minutes off the bench.
The Pioneers return to action on Saturday, Jan. 4 when they travel to Knoxville to face the University of Tennessee in an exhibition game at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tipoff against the Vols is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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