GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Connor Jordan scored 21 points off the bench, while Inady Legiste recorded 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Tusculum men's basketball team to a 79-66 South Atlantic Conference win over Mars Hill Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
The Pioneers (8-5, 4-2 SAC) complete the season-sweep over the Lions (3-10, 0-5 SAC) as TU has been victorious in the last seven encounters with their cross-mountain rivals.
Jordan's 21-point effort follows up his career-best 22-point performance in Thursday's road win at Limestone. Legiste posted his second 20-point game against the Lions this year and the fifth overall for the season.
Tusculum shot 51 percent for the game including a sizzling 16-of-23 in the second half (69.6%). TU connected on a season-best 12 three-pointers while shooting 48 percent from beyond the arch. The Pioneers were also deadly at the free throw line going 13-of-14 with Jordan (6-6) and Legiste (5-5) combining for a perfect 11-of-11 at the charity stripe.
MHU's Rajuan Conner led the Lions with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Dominic Strother accounted for a dozen markers. Kory Davis finished with 11 points and a game-high six assists while Isaiah Jones added 10 points, four steals and two blocked shots.
Tusculum also got a season-high 10 points off the bench from Jacob Hobbs as he went 3-of-4 from the floor with a pair of three-pointers to go along with three steals and two blocked shots.
Trailing 9-7, the Pioneers went on a 16-2 run over a span of 7:19 to move out to a 23-11 lead at the 8:15 mark of the half.
Mars Hill hit a pair of free throws before TU rookie Kyle Brown nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key to extend the Tusculum advantage to 26-13, its largest lead of the half.
The Lions responded with an 8-2 run to trim the deficit to 28-21 with three minutes on the clock. The lead swelled to 10 points on two more occasions in the period before Rajuan Conner made two free throws in the final minute as Tusculum took a 33-25 lead into the locker room.
In the second half with TU leading 35-29, the Pioneers scored five straight including a triple by Crump and a Joshua Scott layup for a 40-29 lead with 17:34 left in the game.
The Lions made its biggest run of the contest with a 10-3 spurt sparked by a Jones steal and slam dunk and back-to-back three-pointers from Kory and Kendall Davis as the visitors trailed 43-39 with 14:35 remaining.
After a Tusculum timeout, Legiste converted a three-point play and followed with a jumper. Jordan came up with a steal to set up his three-pointer and Scott hit a layup as TU lead 53-39 with 12:13 on the scoreboard.
MHU got seven straight points from Conner as the Lions trimmed the deficit to 53-46 with 10:31 on the clock. TU went on a 10-2 run for the next 2:37 as the Pioneers got a Jalen Crowder layup, Hobbs poured in five in a row, Jordan also contributed five points including his three-point at the 8:18 mark for a 65-48 lead, Tusculum largest of the game.
Mars Hill followed with eight straight points as TU was forced into four turnovers as the Lions were behind in the single-digits again at 65-56 with 5:45 to go.
The Pioneers answered with a run of its own with a 7-2 spurt with the last five markers coming from Hobbs including his second triple of the night for a 72-58 lead with 3:33 on the clock.
Strother answered with a three-pointer for the Lions, while Legiste canned a layup as the Pioneers led 74-61 with 2:40 to go. Strother hit another triple to cut the deficit to 10, but the Pioneers finished with two free throws from Legiste and Jordan posted a steal and converted the three-point play with 48 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
Tusculum's 21 turnovers were a season-high and the most since committing 21 miscues in last season's SAC opening win over Carson-Newman.
Legiste went 7-of-8 from the floor and records his NCAA Division II-leading ninth double-double of the season.
Crowder and Scott each had seven points, while James West IV posted six points and four assists in the victory.
Tusculum returns to action on Wednesday when the Pioneers travel to arch-rival Carson-Newman for a 7:30 p.m. contest at Holt Fieldhouse. TU has won the last three meetings with the Eagles including a thrilling 68-67 win over C-N in their last trip to Jefferson City.
