GREENEVILLE, Tenn. –- Riding the momentum of a four-game winning streak, the South Atlantic Conference-leading Tusculum Pioneers will be on the road for a pair of league contests this week.
TU will make the short trek over Sam's Gap and take on cross-mountain rival Mars Hill on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. Tusculum will wrap up the week with Saturday's trip to Hartsville, South Carolina and a 4 p.m. tip-off against the Coker Cobras.
The Pioneers (9-4, 9-2 SAC) recorded two home wins last week as the Black & Orange rallied from a pair of 11-point deficits in victories over Wingate (65-60) and Catawba (85-73).
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
TU graduate student Trenton Gibson has recorded double-doubles in three straight games including the second triple-double of his career as he posted 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in Saturday's win over Catawba.
The 2021 SAC Player of the Year is the only player in the conference to be listed in the SAC top-10 in scoring, rebounding and assists. His 20.3 points per game average is second in the league and 34th in the country. His 6.9 rebounds per game average is eighth-best in the SAC, while also dishing out 5.0 assists per game, which ranks him fourth in the league and 39th nationally. He has also been shooting well from the charity stripe where he is shooting 86.1 percent this season which is third in the conference (43rd in NCAA II), while also making 21 consecutive free throws dating back to last month.
He enters this week's action with 1,413 points in his career which are the 11th-most in school history. He has scored in double figures in 77 of his 92 career games including his last 22 in a row.
Gibson is listed in TU's career top-10 in eight statistical categories including field goals made (441 – 10th), field goal attempts (1057 – 5th), free throws made (427 – 3rd), free throw attempts (532 – 3rd), free throw percentage (.803 – 6th), rebounds per game (6.44 rpg – T3rd), assists (383 – 5th) and assists per game (4.16 apg).
Sophomore forward Inady Legiste is second on the team in scoring and field goal percentage while leading the TU charge in blocked shots. The 2021 SAC All-Freshman Team honoree is averaging 11.5 points per contest (30th in SAC) including 18.0 ppg in his last three outings. He is coming off a 19-point effort on Saturday against Catawba where he shot 8-of-13 from the floor including a pair of three-pointers.
His .589 field goal percentage is seventh in the SAC while making the most of his long-range shots going 10-of-16 from beyond the arc (62.5%). He is hauling in 4.2 rebounds per game and averages 1.62 blocked shots per contest (2nd in SAC / 48th in NCAA II).
Forward William Vedder is third on the roster in scoring (10.8 ppg), rebounding (5.8 rpg – 16th in SAC) and shooting (.523 – 14th in SAC). The Virginia State transfer played in his 100th career game of his collegiate career on Saturday. He is averaging 7.6 rebounds per game in his last three contests and has accounted for three double-doubles this season and four for his career.
Junior Justin Mitchell is averaged 12.5 points per game last week to raise his seasonal scoring average to 7.9 points per contest. He went 5-of-8 from the field for his 13 points in the win over Catawba. The only player to start in all 13 games this year, Mitchell is fourth on the team with his 5.7 rebounds per game (19th in SAC) and is the team-leader with 15 total steals.
Brandon Mitchell is coming off one of his best performances of the year as he scored a season-best 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while also grabbing 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the year and 13th of his career. He is the team's second-leading rebounder averaging 6.8 boards per contest (10th in SAC) while his TU-best .676 field goal percentage is second in the conference.
He is Tusculum's all-time leader in blocked shots with his 184 rejections for his career, which are the ninth-most in SAC history and are the most by an active NCAA Division II player. His 1.0 blocked shots per game average this year is ranked sixth in the league.
Brandon Mitchell eclipsed a personal milestone on Saturday becoming only the fourth Pioneer with 700 career rebounds. He has accounted for 706 rebounds in his 118-game career, coming out to an average of 5.98. His 314 career offensive rebounds are the third-most by a SAC player.
True freshman point guard KJ Crump is averaging 6.5 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. Crump has played in all 13 games including 11 starts.
All-SAC guard James West IV is also averaging 6.5 points per game, while posting 1.3 steals per contest which is the best theft average on the team (15th in SAC).
Juniors Jalen Crowder and Jacob Hobbs are averaging 4.2 and 3.9 points per game, respectively to round out the scoring for the Black & Orange.
SCOUTING MARS HILL
The Mars Hill Lions (4-8, 4-5 SAC) will be seeing their first action of 2022 after a 25-day hiatus. MHU has had its last two games postponed due to COVID protocols involving Limestone and Newberry last week. The Lions last contest came in a 96-79 home loss to Wingate on Dec. 18 for MHU's fourth straight defeat.
Mars Hill opened conference play winning four of its first five SAC outings with victories over Newberry (76-75), UVA Wise (88-66), Catawba (89-75) and Anderson (85-82). But after the win over Anderson, MHU dropped consecutive contests to Queens (95-80), Lincoln Memorial (101-70), Carson-Newman 86-67) and Wingate.
The Lions have four players averaging in double-figure scoring led by rookie guard Kadyn Dawkins who is tallying 15.0 points per game. He has already posted four 20-point contests this season including a 29-point effort at Catawba where he went 11-of-15 with three 3-pointers. Dawkins leads the SAC in free throw percentage at 89.6 percent (20th in NCAA II) and enters the TU game having made 13 in a row.
Senior forward Isayah Johnson is second on the club with his 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game (3rd in SAC) average. Johnson is shooting 53.3 percent from the floor and 41.2 percent from three-point land. He is also third in the league in blocked shots (1.42 bpg)
Sophomore forward Michael Houge leads the conference with his five double-doubles (29th in NCAA II) while averaging 11.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest (5th in SAC). Houge has accounted for a double-double in four of his last five games. He is averaging a sizzling 17.0 points and 10 rebounds per contest during his last five games. Earlier this season he hauled in a season-best 17 rebounds against Catawba.
SCOUTING COKER
Like Mars Hill, the Coker Cobras will also be seeing their first action of 2022 this week when they host Wingate on Wednesday before welcoming the Pioneers on Saturday.
Coker is 3-9 overall and 3-6 in conference play with league wins against Mars Hill (102-82), UVA Wise (80-71) and Limestone (65-54), all in the friendly confines of the DeLoach Center.
Senior guard Chandler Lindsey is pacing the Cobra offense with his 14.6 points (12th in SAC), 4.9 assists (5th in SAC / 45th in NCAA II) and 1.8 steals (3rd in SAC) per game average. He is also second on the team pulling down 4.4 rebounds per game.
Senior guard Malcolm Kennedy is second on the team averaging 14.2 points per game while shooting 46.3 percent from three-point territory, but has not played in five of Coker's last six games with his last action coming at Anderson on Dec. 8.
SERIES HISTORY
When Tusculum and Mars Hill battle on Wednesday, it will be the 94th recorded meeting with TU leading the series 60-33. Sixteen (16) of the last 25 games between TU and MHU have been decided by 10 points or less. Tusculum has won 10 of the last 11 over Mars Hill and 12 of the last 14. Since joining the South Atlantic Conference in 1998, Tusculum is 32-14 vs Mars Hill. The cross-mountain rivals first met 93 years ago as Tusculum defeated the Lions 45-34 on Feb. 1, 1929. Mars Hill leads the series 22-21 in games played at Mars Hill.
This week will be the 17th encounter between the Pioneers and Cobras in series that is just eight years old. The series is tied 8-8 with TU winning seven of the last 10 meetings, including a 5-1 record over the past three years. Coker is 5-3 all-time in Hartsville against Tusculum.
FOLLOW THE PIONEERS
Fans can watch the action of Tusculum basketball all season at TusculumPioneers.com on the Pioneer Sports Network and the SAC Digital Network. The radio call of the games will also be available locally on WSMG Radio on 95.5 FM and 1450 AM, as well as online at https://jewel955.com/listenlive.
