GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Jalal Abdul-Azeez scored eight of his 13 points in overtime, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:03 remaining, as Coker College rallied to defeat Tusculum College 90-85 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.

The Cobras (8-14, 4-14 SAC) trailed by five points with 3:25 remaining but forced overtime on a jumper by Donte Samuels with 27.8 seconds remaining, then trailed 82-81 with 1:22 to go in overtime before finishing the game on a 9-3 run to earn their first win in nine conference road games this season.

Samuels scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the second half for the Cobras, who shot 10-for-27 from three-point range as a team and scored 18 second-chance points off 17 offensive rebounds in the game. Aubrey Daniel added 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Coker, while Trey Marshall had 10 points and a team-high five assists.

Chase Mounce led the Pioneers (10-13, 6-12 SAC) with 20 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots, while Javon Price came off the bench to score 17 points and grab six rebounds. Kendall Patterson and Darius Carter had 14 points each for the Pioneers, who shot 25-for-32 (78.1 percent) at the foul line but hit just 26-of-62 shots (41.9 percent) from the field in the game.

Tusculum had its largest lead of the game at 56-48 following a three-pointer by Price with 9:22 to go, but the Cobras pulled to within one at 58-57 on a jumper by Jake Barrett with 7:11 to play. Mounce converted a layup with 6:14 left to give the Pioneers a 63-59 lead, but that was the final field goal of regulation for Tusculum, which missed its last six field goal attempts of the second half.

Two free throws from Patterson gave the Pioneers a 66-59 lead with 4:54 to go, but the Cobras were able to pull within 69-67 on a three-pointer by Daniel with 3:14 left. After an exchange of missed shots, the Cobras tied the game with 1:02 left on a dunk by Jalen Watson. Patterson put the Pioneers back on top 71-69 on two free throws with 38.8 seconds to play, but Daniels hit the tying shot on the Cobras' next possession.

Playing for the win, the Pioneers lost the ball out of bounds with 1.4 seconds remaining to give Coker a final chance. A long inbounds pass from the opposite end of the court wound up in the hands of Samuels, but his hurried shot from close range rolled off the rim as time expired in regulation.

In overtime, the teams exchanged scores before Abdul-Azeez connected from the corner to give the Cobras a 78-75 lead with 4:01 left. A Carter layup was answered by a Daniel layup which kept the Coker lead at three with 3:00 to play. Matt Shown hit two free throws to pull the Pioneers within 80-79 with 2:32 to go, Watson hit a free throw to extend the Coker lead to 81-79 with 1:39 remaining, but Mounce was fouled intentionally with 1:26 left and hit one of two free throws to cut the gap back to a point with Tusculum retaining possession. Carter then hit a layup with 1:22 left for Tusculum's final lead of the day at 82-81.

Abdul-Azeez then drained his third three-pointer of the game with 1:03 left to put Coker up 84-82, then converted a Marshall steal into a layup for a four-point lead with 43 seconds remaining. Samuels hit two free throws with 30.1 seconds to play for an 88-82 Coker lead, but Cory Fagan responded with a three-pointer for Tusculum to narrow the spread to 88-85 with 19.8 remaining. However, Samuels hit two more free throws with 19.4 to go and the Pioneers were unable to respond as Coker came away with the victory.

Coker scored the first eight points of the game and led for the entire first half, with its largest lead coming at 25-15 following a Samuels three-pointer with 7:25 left in the opening half. However, the Pioneers were able to cut the deficit to a point at 30-29 on a three-pointer by Price with 15 seconds left in the half. Trey James led Coker with six points and six rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench in the first half, while Carter paced the Pioneers with seven points, three rebounds and three assists.

Coker shot 31.6 percent (12-for-38) from the field in the first half, including 4-for-11 on three-pointers, while Tusculum was 11-for-31 from the field (35.5 percent) and 3-for-9 from long range. Both teams finished the first half with 25 rebounds, with Shown pacing Tusculum with six boards to match James for the game high.

Tusculum tied the game 39-39 on a three-pointer by Fagan with 14:51 to play, and took its first lead of the afternoon at 41-39 on two free throws by Patterson with 14:29 left. Other than a brief one-point lead by the Cobras following a Daniel putback with 12:34 remaining, the Pioneers did not trail again in regulation.

Patterson set season and career highs for the Pioneers by going 10-for-12 from the foul line. He also added a season-high six rebounds and four assists while playing 34 minutes. Carter had 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including two three-pointers, and had five rebounds and six assists along with a pair of blocked shots.

Price, who had a career-high 30 points in Wednesday's game against Lincoln Memorial, shot 6-for-10 from the field and went 3-for-5 from three-point range for Tusculum. Fagan hit three from long range in six attempts and had nine points, while Zach Davis came off the bench to finish with six points and six rebounds in 16 minutes of action. Shown led the Pioneers with eight rebounds and added five points in 32 minutes of playing time.

Watson had seven points and eight rebounds for the Cobras, with Barrett adding seven points and three rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench. As a team, Coker shot 6-for-8 from the field in overtime and went 5-for-8 from the free-throw line as they outscored Tusculum 19-14 in the extra session.

Both teams did well to protect the basketball, with Coker finishing the game with just eight turnovers and Tusculum with 12. Coker had 16 points off the Pioneer miscues while Tusculum managed just six points off the Cobra giveaways. Tusculum had a 17-9 edge in fast-break points, while the teams were nearly even on scoring in the paint with Coker holding a 32-30 advantage.

Pioneers are back in action on Monday as they host Bluefield State College for a 7 p.m. non-conference contest at Pioneer Arena. Tusculum defeated the Big Blues 89-81 on Nov. 19 in Bluefield, West Virginia.

Tusculum will be on the road Wednesday night as they visit Jefferson City to take on Carson-Newman University at Holt Fieldhouse. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m.

- TC -