NEWBERRY, S.C. --- The Newberry men's basketball team knocked down 16 three-pointers, including 11 in the first half en route to a 96-75 South Atlantic Conference win over visiting Tusculum Saturday afternoon at Eleazer Arena.

The Wolves (15-6, 11-6 SAC) remain in fourth place in the league standings while completing the season sweep over the Pioneers (3-20, 2-15 SAC).

Newberry's Demarkus Smith led all scorers with 20 points as he shot 4-of-5 from three-point territory. Dondray Walker added 18 points, including his four treys, while Brunes Charles had a perfect night shooting as he went 3-for-3 from the field, and 8-of-8 from the free throw line to go along with his six assists.

Tusculum's Chase Mounce led the Pioneers with his 16 points as the redshirt freshman fired 7-of-10 from the floor, including 5-of-6 in his 11-point second half. Darius Carter finished with 16 markers with a pair of three-pointers and shot 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. Addison Flynn added 10 points and four assists, while Keith Jumper posted nine points and six rebounds off the bench.

Newberry connected on 16 of its 33 three-point shots (48.5%) for the game, including 11-of-23 in the opening period, as the Wolves jumped out to a 46-24 lead at halftime.

The Wolves used a smothering defense in the first half that limited Tusculum to shoot 33 percent and forcing the Pioneers into 13 turnovers resulting into 18 points for Newberry.

Tusculum went on a 13-5 run early in the second half to trim the deficit to 54-39 following a Neal Spinks jumper with 15:33 remaining in the contest.

The Wolves went ahead by 18 following a three-pointer by Walker, but Cory Fagan's long-range bomb pulled TC to within 76-62 with 6:49 to go.

Newberry would distance itself with a 9-2 spurt over the next two minutes, capped off by a Cole Birchfield three-pointer to put the game away.

Tusculum out-scored Newberry 51-50 in the second half as the Pioneers shot 19-of-35 (54.3%) from the floor in the final 20 minutes to finish shooting 46.4 percent for the game.

The Wolves finished the game shooting 22-of-24 (91.7%) from the free throw line, including 22 in a row to start the contest.

Newberry also recorded 23 assists on its 29 made field goals, including a game-high seven by Mitch Riggs and six helpers from Gerald Evans.

Tusculum out-rebounded the Wolves by a 33-27 margin, but the Pioneers were forced into 19 turnovers, which were converted into 22 points.

Spinks finished the contest with eight points, while Matt Shown and BJ Fisher contributed four points each.

Tusculum returns to action Monday night to take on 14th-ranked Lincoln Memorial for an 8 p.m. SAC contest at Tex Turner Arena in Harrogate. Monday's contest is a rescheduled game due to last week's snow storm.

- TC -