Tusculum College scored the first 10 points of the game and withstood a late Catawba College run to earn an 81-75 victory in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Monday night at Pioneer Arena.

Zach Davis came off the bench to finish with game highs of 21 points and nine rebounds for the Pioneers (8-9, 4-8 SAC), who shot 48.1 percent from the field to snap a four-game losing streak. Four players finished in double figures for Tusculum, which led by as many as 17 points in the second half before the Indians (7-11, 5-7 SAC) pulled within two with 3 1/2 minutes left in the game.

Jameel Taylor led the Indians with 19 points and eight rebounds, but Catawba shot 42.4 percent (28-for-66) from the field and connected on just 11-of-24 attempts from the foul line as a team. The Indians were also outrebounded 45-38 by the Pioneers in dropping its fourth consecutive game.

Davis shot 5-for-8 from the field, but set career highs for free throws made (11) and attempted (13) as part of a 27-for-39 performance at the stripe for the Pioneers in the game. Davis' nine rebounds were also a season high, and his two blocked shots matched his season and career best.

Darius Carter also finished in double figures for the Pioneers with 13 points, while Chase Mounce had 10 points and seven rebounds and Gunnar Beamer had 10 points in 17 minutes off the bench for Tusculum. Jerrin Morrison tallied 12 points and four rebounds for the Indians, with Rakeen Brown also reaching double figures with 10 points and six assists off the bench.

The Pioneers used points from all five starters to build a 10-0 lead after 4 1/2 minutes, but an 11-2 run from the Indians trimmed the margin to 14-13 following a three-pointer from Brown with 11:31 left in the first half. Tusculum was able to restore its double-digit lead at 27-17 on two free throws by Davis with 5:37 left in the half, and built the lead to as many as 16 points at 39-23 before taking a 41-26 advantage into intermission.

Carter led the Pioneers with 10 points in the first half, while Morrison was the leading scorer for Catawba with seven points. Tusculum shot an even 50 percent (13-for-26) from the field as a team while holding Catawba to 31.3 percent (10-for-32).

In the second half, the Pioneers saw their lead expand to 17 points following a three-pointer by Cory Fagan with 18:54 remaining, but the Indians responded with a 13-2 run that was capped by a Taylor jumper which pulled Catawba within 48-42 with 15:11 to play. The Pioneers continued to build their lead back into double figures, only to see the Indians make a run at them. Catawba got within four at 62-58 on a free throw by Taylor with 7:48 left, and made it a 68-66 game on a jumper by Andrew Ingram with 3:22 left.

However, the Pioneers took advantage of a series of offensive rebounds to score four points on one possession and go on top 72-66 with 2:25 remaining. Tusculum would lead 78-67 after a Beamer layup with 58 seconds to play, but seven missed free throws in the final minute helped the Indians pull as close as four before missing their final three shots from the field.

Matt Shown shared the team lead in rebounding with Davis for the Pioneers as he had nine boards to go with six points. Javon Price contributed five points and four rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench, while Fagan tallied seven points and three rebounds. Ingram and Jeremy McLaughlin had eight points apiece off the bench for the Indians, although Catawba's reserves were outscored by Tusculum's subs by a 40-29 margin.

Carter's final free throw of the night was the 400th of his career, making him just the second player in Tusculum program history to make 400 foul shots. He is 47 behind the record of 447 career free throws set by Kyle Moore from 2006 to 2010. Carter's 13 points also increased his career total to 1,123, allowing him to pass James Boshears (1,117 from 1993 to 1996) for 16th place on the school career scoring list.

Tusculum will be on the road Wednesday night at Brevard for an 8 p.m. tipoff. The Pioneers beat the Tornados 96-81 at Pioneer Arena on Nov. 24 behind 29 points and nine assists from Carter.