HARTSVILLE, S.C. --- Coker University used a 21-8 run in the second half as the Cobras rallied to an 82-77 win over visiting Tusculum University Saturday at the DeLoach Center in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action.
Coker's Andre Leavell went 10-of-18 from the floor and 5-of-7 at the free throw line as the league's leading scorer added a game-high 25 points to his personal scoring ledger. He also hauled in 10 rebounds and dished out three assists for the Cobras (6-3, 2-0 SAC).
Coker teammate Mahmoud Bangura logged his SAC-leading fourth double-double with 10 points and 10 boards as the Cobras record their fifth straight victory.
Tusculum forward Jacob Hobbs led the Pioneers (3-4, 1-1 SAC) with his second career double-double as he tallied a season-best 16 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds. He also posted a career-best four assists, blocked a shot and made two steals in his career-high 33 minutes on the floor.
TU junior Josiah Morris added 14 points in the first half, including four 3-pointers, while Ray'Quan Taylor contributed season-bests with 12 points and six rebounds off the bench. Senior Kobe Funderburk finished with nine points, while junior KJ Crump had seven points and a career-high nine assists.
Coker trailed 60-55 with 12:30 remaining in the game and over the next eight minutes, outscored TU 21-8 including a key 7-0 run later in the contest to take its largest lead of the game at 76-68 with 2:54 to go following a jumper by Hayden Abdullah.
The Pioneers made a valiant effort to bounce back as TU responded with a 9-2 spurt sparked by a trio Funderburk triples including his third 3-pointer in a row with 56 seconds left to cut the deficit to 78-77.
TU's Bryce Jackson came up with a steal on Coker's possession, but he would miss the go-ahead jumper and the Cobras would come up with the rebound. Leavell would be fouled and he would make his two free throws with 21 seconds left to extend the lead to 80-77.
The Pioneers would come up empty on its final possession and Coker would get two free throws from Bangura to secure the final margin of victory.
Tusculum held the SAC's top scoring team to a season-low in points (82) and 20 points under its conference leading 103 points per game average (4th in NCAA II).
Neither team shot above 40 percent from the field as Coker went 29-of-74 for 39 percent while the Pioneers went 29-of-78 from the floor (37%) including 32 percent in the second half. TU also went 10-of-17 from the free throw line including 4-of-10 in the final 20 minutes. Coker on the other hand, went 17-of-21 from the charity stripe (81%) including 11-of-12 in the second half (92%).
Tusculum edged Coker 51-49 on the boards including 19 offensive boards for the Pioneers who converted those into 20 second-chance points. The Pioneers committed 19 turnovers while Coker had 18 resulting in 24 points for TU who posted a season-high 14 steals.
The Pioneers return home on Wednesday when they host arch-rival Carson-Newman University for a 7:30 p.m. contest at Pioneer Arena.
