SALISBURY, N.C. --- Trenton Gibson scored 17 of his team-high 21 points in the second half to help Tusculum University to an 86-74 victory over Catawba College in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action at Goodman Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

William Vedder added 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds and Inady Legiste contributed 14 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Pioneers (2-2, 2-0 SAC), who also received 11 points from Jalen Crowder off the bench. Tusculum outrebounded Catawba by a 47-32 margin and the Pioneers subs outscored the Indian reserves by 34-13 in the victory.

Caleb Robinson led Catawba (1-3, 0-2 SAC) with 23 points and eight rebounds and Trevion Lamar added 14 points, but the Indians could not protect a four-point lead midway through the second half as Tusculum outscored Catawba 32-16 over the final 13 1/2 minutes. Ben Bowen also reached double figures for Catawba with 11 points, as the Indians shot 43.9 percent (29-for-66) from the floor for the game.

Gibson was 1-for-7 from the field with four points at halftime, but went 7-for-11 from the floor in the second half. He also pulled down eight rebounds, with six on the offensive glass as Tusculum had 17 offensive boards as a team and turned them into 17 points. Legiste was 6-for-9 from the field and Vedder 5-for-9 as Tusculum finished the game at 47.1 percent (32-for-68) from the field and 14-for-19 from the foul line.

Tusculum missed its first three shots before a layup by Gibson cut the early Catawba lead to 4-3 with 17:54 left in the first half. The bucket sparked an 11-1 Tusculum run that included a three-pointer from Justin Mitchell and six points from Gibson which gave the Pioneers a 12-5 lead with five minutes gone. The Pioneers extended their lead to 17-7 with 12:14 left following a Crowder three-pointer and a putback by Jacob Hobbs, but the Indians scored on four straight possessions to pull within two on a layup by Robinson with 10:42 remaining.

Catawba regained the lead at 20-19 on a three-pointer from Kowalski with 9:30 left in the half, but KJ Crump answered with a three to put the Pioneers back ahead 22-20 on the next trip. The teams would swap the lead several times over the next five minutes, but baskets from Vedder and Legiste stretched out the Tusculum advantage to 33-28 with 4:06 to go in the half. However, three straight turnovers from the Pioneers helped the Indians to an 8-0 run which Dre Nelson capped with a dunk to give Catawba a 36-33 lead. Legiste tied the game at 36-36 on a three-pointer with 1:08 left, and Vedder scored on a drive just before the buzzer to send Tusculum to the half with a 38-36 advantage.

Legiste led the Pioneers with 10 points and five rebounds on 4-for-6 shooting in the first half, with Vedder adding seven points and six rebounds. Nine of the 10 players who saw action in the first half for the Pioneers reached the scoring column, and together they combined to shoot 45.5 percent (15-for-33) from the field and 4-for-13 from three-point range, though the Pioneers did finish with 10 turnovers. Robinson led Catawba with 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting in the first half, as the Indians went 13-for-32 (40.6 percent) from the floor and 2-for-7 from long range. Tusculum outrebounded Catawba 26-15 in the first half and the Pioneer bench had a 17-4 scoring edge over the Indians.

Seven straight points from Gibson gave the Pioneers a 45-40 lead with 17:49 left, but five in a row from Lamar brought the Indians back into a 45-45 deadlock. Gibson put the Pioneers back ahead 52-51 with 14:29 remaining, but Kris Robinson hit a three-pointer and followed with a layup to give the Indians their largest lead at 58-54 with 13:23 remaining.

Tusculum responded with a 17-2 run, highlighted by a three-point play by Gibson and a three-pointer from Crowder. Catawba was 1-for-7 with three turnovers during the Pioneer run, which was capped by another three-pointer from Crowder which extended the Tusculum lead to 71-60 with 5:44 left. Catawba pulled back within 71-64 on a jumper by Myles Washington with 4:50 to play, but three-point plays from Vedder and Gibson left the Pioneers holding a 77-66 advantage with 3:56 to go. Catawba got to within eight with 1:12 left, but Crowder, James West IV and Vedder each hit a pair of foul shots in the final 1:04 to seal the win.

Crump played 29 minutes for the Pioneers and finished with five points, a game-high five assists and one steal with zero turnovers. Brandon Mitchell contributed seven points, five rebounds and a blocked shot in 19 minutes off the Tusculum bench, while West finished with seven points on 2-for-7 shooting.

Tusculum turned the ball over 17 games in the game, which led to 20 points for Catawba, while the Indians had 13 turnovers which the Pioneers converted into 18 points. There were eight ties and 13 lead changes in the game, with six of the lead changes coming in the second half.

The Pioneers will host Limestone on Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Pioneer Arena. The Saints are also 2-0 in the conference and are 3-1 overall following a 62-59 victory at Newberry on Saturday.