GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Senior Mason Fox
accounted for the first triple-double in recorded school history in
leading the Tusculum men's basketball team to an 87-73 South
Atlantic Conference victory over Mars Hill Wednesday night at
Pioneer Arena.
Fox finished the night with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a
career-high 13 assists as the Pioneers (4-14, 4-9 SAC) extend their
winning streak to three in a row.
All five TC starters finished in double figures led by Chase Mounce's double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds. Mounce shot 8-of-14 from the floor, including a three-pointer and a game-high six blocked shots. Javon Price added 18 points, three assists and career-high four steals, while Matt Shown tallied 12 points and eight rebounds. Cory Fagan added 11 markers, while Zach Davis and Johnathan Knight scored eight and six points, respectively.
Mars Hill's Michael Carson led the Lions (8-11, 3-10) with 14 points off the bench, while the trio of Brandon McCarter, Patrick Monroe and Kevin Haynes contributed 13 points apiece.
The Pioneers used a 12-1 run in the first half to take a 40-26 lead with 1:36 remaining before the intermission. The Lions made a strong push scoring the final five points of the period, including McCarter's coast-to-coast layup at the buzzer to trim the TC lead to 40-31 heading into the locker room.
Mars Hill carried the momentum into the second half, outscoring Tusculum 9-2 in the opening 3:17 of the period to trim the deficit to 42-40 following a Jalen Witherspoon layup.
Tusculum answered with a 6-0 run to take a 48-40 lead with 13:54 to go. TC pushed its advantage back to double-figures at 58-48 following a steal and layup by Shown at the 9:38 mark.
The Lions answered again with a 10-1 spurt over the next 2:26 to trim the Tusculum lead to one point at 59-589 thanks to a Monroe trey.
Tusculum erupted for an 18-6 spurt to lead 77-64 with 1:53 remaining in the game. During the run, TC shot 8-for-9 from the floor, including a pair of three-pointers from Price and four points by Mounce.
The Pioneers would make 10 straight free throws down the stretch, including Fagan's 6-for-6 performance as Tusculum sealed the program's first three-game winning streak since 2011.
The Pioneers shot 48 percent from floor and 18-of-22 from the free throw stripe for 82 percent. TC out-rebounded the Lions by a 47-39 margin, including 26-17 in the second half. Tusculum dominated points in the paint, out-scoring MHU 44-28.
Tusculum travels to Queens University of Charlotte on Saturday for a 4 p.m. contest to begin a three-game road swing.
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