GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum's Inady Legiste recorded 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Pioneers to a 64-61 South Atlantic Conference win over visiting UVA Wise Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.
Tusculum (4-1, 1-1 SAC) had two chances to put the game away late in the contest, but a scrappy effort by the Highland Cavaliers (6-2, 0-1 SAC) kept the outcome of the fray in doubt to the very end. For Tusculum, it was its ninth consecutive victory over UVA Wise.
It was Legiste's fourth consecutive double-double, becoming the first Pioneer to achieve the feat since Chase Mounce had four in a row in the 2014-15 campaign. He went 9-of-11 from the field with a three-pointer and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He also dished out three assists and blocked two shots.
TU's Connor Jordan added 14 points, five assists and four steals in his 35 minutes of action. Joshua Scott tallied eight markers as he made 4-of-5 from the floor.
Tusculum shot 48.1 percent from the field, despite only making 2-of-21 from three-point territory (9.5%). The Pioneers connected on 24-of-33 inside the three-point arch for a blistering 72.7 percent.
UVA Wise was led by Ben Bryson's 16 points which included four 3-pointers. Luke Lawson scored 12 points and hauled in seven rebounds, while Rron Ukaj posted 10 points in the loss.
The Tusculum defense limited Wise's league-leading offense to 29 points under its seasonal average (90.3 ppg) as the Highland Cavaliers shot 35 percent in the contest (24-of-69).
The Cavs' Bradley Dean, who entered the game at the SAC's leading scorer (19.7), was held to a season low seven markers on 2-of-12 shooting, including 1-of-6 from downtown. Dean led the visitors with nine rebounds and also posted four assists and three steals.
UVA Wise came out of the gate firing as the Cavs jumped out to a 16-8 lead in the opening 6:11 thanks to three 3-pointers from Bryson. Trailing 18-10, the Pioneers erased the deficit with a 9-0 run which included five points and buckets from Justin Mitchell and Jalen Crowder as TU took its first lead of the game at 19-18 at the 10:42 mark of the half.
With the score tied at 23-23, the Cavs went on a 6-0 run to take a 29-23 edge which include two free throws from Dean. Legiste hit back-to-back baskets to trim the deficit to 29-27 before Patrick Shelley converted a three-point play to extend the Wise lead to 32-27 with 3:35 remaining in the period.
The Pioneers would close out the half with a 9-2 spurt including a KJ Crump triple and two free throws by Legiste as TU took a 36-35 lead into the locker room.
Scott sparked a 6-2 run to open the second half with his three buckets as Tusculum led 42-37. The Cavaliers responded with a 10-4 run over the next 3:14 to retake the lead at 47-46 with 15:09 remaining.
Lawson followed with a dunk at the 12:40 mark to give the Cavs a 49-47 lead, but Tusculum followed with its second 9-0 run of the night which included seven in a row by Legiste and a layup by freshman Kyle Brown as the Pioneers took their largest lead of the game at 56-49 with 10 minutes left.
A 10-2 run by the Cavaliers erased that lead as J'Son Brooks hit a jumper out of a timeout to give Wise the lead at 59-58 with 5:15 to go.
Jordan answered 19 seconds later with a driving layup in the paint to give TU the lead for good at 60-59.
Both teams went cold from the floor as TU missed its next five shots, while UVA Wise missed five and row and committed three turnovers.
Legiste made one of two free throws at the 2:54 mark to a 61-59 TU lead. Legiste converted a Scott offensive rebound into a bucket with just over a minute remaining as the Pioneers led 63-59.
The Cavaliers missed its next two shots but Lawson came up with his fourth offensive rebound of the game and followed with a layup to trim the deficit to 63-61 with 31.2 seconds remaining.
Tusculum's Connor Jordan was fouled and went to the line for the one-and bonus with 23.9 seconds left. He made the first but missed the second for his first miss at the foul line this season, ending a string of 18 in a row.
UVA Wise got the rebound and called a timeout with 19.2 seconds remaining. Out of the timeout, the Cavs never got a shot off as Crump came up with the steal and dribbled into the front court and was fouled with 7.7 seconds remaining.
Crump missed the front end of the bonus and Lawson once again came up with the rebound. He would get off a three-pointer at the buzzer but his shot was no good as Tusculum held on for the win.
TU finished the game with 18 assists on its 26 field goal makes while going 10-of-14 from the charity stripe. The Pioneers out-scored the Cavs 36-26 in the pain and held a 40-37 edge in rebounding.
Tusculum returns to action on Saturday as they travel to Mars Hill for a 4 p.m. SAC contest and Burt Stanford Arena.
