GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's basketball team got back to its winning ways as the Pioneers posted an 82-72 South Atlantic Conference victory over visiting Coker University Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
Tusculum (15-7, 15-5 SAC) placed 13 of its 14 players in the scoring column while collecting 51 points from its non-starters as the Pioneers remain in third place in the league standings. TU completes the season-sweep over the Cobras (4-21, 4-18 SAC) who drop their ninth consecutive game and fifth in a row to the Pioneers.
TU spread its playing time evenly amongst the roster as 13 players recorded at least 12 minutes on the floor with William Vedder leading the charge with 22 minutes off the bench. The Pioneers are in the midst of playing six games in nine days to close out the regular season.
Tusculum's Trenton Gibson led the Pioneers with his 10 points while shooting 3-for-5 from the floor and 2-of-2 from three-point territory. Gibson also dished out five assists in his 17 minutes on the floor. KJ Crump and Vedder added nine points each, while Inady Legiste and Zack Dixon finished with eight points apiece. Vedder went 4-of-5 from the floor and hauled in a team-best six rebounds.
The Pioneers shot a season-high 61.5 percent from the floor (32-of-52) including 8-of-20 from three-point territory and accounted for 19 assists on its 32 made field goals.
Coker's Zavier Measmer led all scorers with his 24 points and shot 6-of-10 from three-point land and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Demar Anderson added 20 points, while Williams Onyeodi finished with 11.
TU outscored the Cobras 38-20 in the paint and enjoyed a 24-15 advantage in points off turnovers as the Pioneers forced 18 Coker miscues on 11 steals including four thefts by James West IV.
The Cobras held the advantage in the opening moments of the game and enjoyed an 8-4 lead following three free throws by Measmer. Coker led 15-13 with 13:21 left in the half, but Tusculum erupted for a 17-4 run which was capped off by a three-pointer from Dixon as the Pioneers led 30-19.
TU pushed the lead out to as many as 16 (41-25) thanks to a Vedder three-point play with 2:44 left before the intermission. The Cobras closed out the half with an 8-2 spurt as TU took a 44-33 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, Coker trimmed the deficit to eight points on four occasions including 62-54 with 11:10 left following Measmer's triple. Tusculum answered with an 8-1 run and put the game out of reach on Crump's trifecta at the 5:25 mark as TU led 75-59.
Coker ended the afternoon shooting 42.3 percent from the field including 11-of-28 in the second half (39.3%).
Gibson's 10-point showing, his 85th career game in double figures, moves to seventh place on Tusculum's all-time scoring list with 1,555 points, moving past former All-SAC forward Jordan Lear (1550 from 2004-2008).
The Pioneers open the final week of the regular season on Monday with a road trip to Limestone University for a 6:30 p.m. contest. TU defeated the Saints, 77-68 in this season's first meeting.