GAFFNEY, S.C. --- Connor Jordan scored a career-high 22 points off the bench and Inady Legiste scored the go-ahead basket with 45.9 seconds left as Tusculum University defeated Limestone University 71-67 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Thursday afternoon from the Timken Center.

The Pioneers (7-5, 3-2 SAC) made their first 11 shots from the field in the second half to build a 10-point lead, but the Saints (5-8, 1-4 SAC) rallied to tie the game for the fifth and final time with 1:15 to play. Legiste, who finished with eight points and a game-high nine rebounds while playing just 21 minutes due to foul trouble, would score on a putback and KJ Crump added two free throws in the closing seconds for the Pioneers.

Jordan shot 9-for-15 from the field to surpass his previous season high of 16 points set against Lees-McRae on Nov. 26 and his career high of 21 points set against Southern Wesleyan on Feb. 8, 2022 while playing for King. Joshua Scott also reached double figures for the Pioneers with 10 points off the bench as Tusculum received 39 points from its reserves in the game, with seven points along with six rebounds from Kyle Brown.

Zeb Graham hit four three-pointers and led the Saints with 14 points and six assists off the bench, while Richard Nunez had 11 points and six rebounds. Greg McKay shot just 4-for-16 from the field and had 10 points for the Saints, who shot 40.6 percent (26-for-64) from the field and were outrebounded 43-24 by the Pioneers.

Tusculum shot 53.8 percent (28-for-52) from the field in the game and went 5-for-12 from three-point range, but committed 19 turnovers which led to 22 points for Limestone. The Pioneers were 10-for-16 from the foul line in the game, including 9-for-13 in the second half.

Legiste, Jalen Crowder and James West all scored eight points for the Pioneers while Crump had six points, four rebounds and four assists without a turnover. Ben Gahlert finished with eight points and had five rebounds for the Saints, while Zach Laird went 3-for-3 from three-point range and had nine points in 21 minutes off the bench.

West scored the first six points of the game for the Pioneers, but Gahlert matched him with six points of his own through the first four minutes. The Pioneers would tie the game at 9-9 on a three-pointer by Crowder with 15:27 left in the half, but a dunk from Nunez stretched the Saints' lead to 18-15 with 10:58 to go. Tusculum would respond with a 12-1 run over the next 3 1/2 minutes which included eight points from Jordan, going up 27-19 on a jumper by Crump with 7:25 left.

The Saints would run off six straight points to cut the deficit to 27-25 on a bucket by Isayah Owens with 5:33 left in the half, but Legiste would get his first two of the game on a putback with 5:03 to play in the half. However, Tusculum would go scoreless for nearly four minutes as a 7-0 run put the Saints back up 32-29 with 1:33 left in the half on a layup by McKay.

Limestone would carry a 32-31 lead to halftime as Gahlert led the Saints with eight points on 4-for-7 shooting. Jordan paced the Pioneers with 10 points on 4-for-9 from the field as Tusculum shot 50 percent (14-for-28) on field goals but committed 11 turnovers which led to 13 points for Limestone.

Tusculum came out of the locker room on fire from the field, hitting its first 11 shots from the field including three-pointers from Brown, Crowder and Jordan. The Pioneers would go up 43-33 with 15:58 to play as the Saints missed their first seven shots from the floor in the half, but Limestone would move back within 45-42 on a three-point play by McKay with 14:16 left. Jordan would then score eight straight points for the Pioneers, including a three-point play with 11:03 left for a 59-50 lead.

Turnovers on three straight possessions by the Pioneers would lead to six points from the Saints, cutting the Tusculum lead to 59-56 with 8:01 left. The Pioneers would miss their first shot of the second half with 7:41 remaining as the Saints crept within 59-58 on two foul shots by Nunez with 6:26 to go.

A three-pointer from Limestone's Laird with 5:48 left tied the game at 61-61 as the Pioneers went nearly six minutes without a field goal, until consecutive baskets from Legiste and Scott gave Tusculum a 65-61 lead with 4:21 to go. Tusculum went up 67-64 on two free throws by Scott with 1:35 left, but Nunez converted a three-point play to tie the game at 67-67 with 1:15 remaining. Legiste would put the Pioneers back ahead 69-67 on a putback with 45.9 seconds left, and after a Saints' miss Crump made two free throws with 15.9 seconds to go to seal the victory.

Tusculum will host Mars Hill (3-9, 0-4 SAC) on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Pioneer Arena in their second meeting of the season with the Lions. On Dec. 10, the Pioneers beat the Lions 87-76 on the road behind 25 points and 11 rebounds from Legiste.