HICKORY, N.C. --- The Tusculum University men's golf team fired a second day 294 and remains in third place at the 2023 South Atlantic Conference Championship. The three-day, 54-hole tournament is being held at the par-72, 6,605-yard Lake Hickory Country Club.

The Pioneers have a team total of 582 after 36 holes and are 22 strokes behind Anderson University, who posted 280 for a second straight to give the top-ranked Trojans a 16-under par score of 560. AU leads by 14 shots over host Lenoir-Rhyne University (574).

Tusculum senior Riley Brown is tied for sixth place individually with his two-under par total of 69-73=142. In Monday's round, Brown opened with seven straight pars before posting a birdie and a bogey to close out his outward nine with 36. He followed with pars on eight of his final nine holes with the only blemish coming on No. 16 where he had a bogey.

Brown heads into Tuesday's final round seven shots behind tournament leader Alejandro DeCastro of Anderson as he followed his opening round 67 with a four-under par 68 on Monday to give him 135 (-9). DeCastro has a three-shot lead over teammate and 2023 SAC Player of the Year Reece Coleman, who matched his 68 with one of his own to move him to six-under par (70-68=138).

Carson-Newman is in fourth place with 585, followed by Limestone (586), Lincoln Memorial (587), Newberry (593), Coker (594), Wingate (602), Catawba (615), UVA Wise (652) and Mars Hill (666).

Tusculum freshman Nicholas Taggart is tied for eighth place individually with 71-72=143 (-1). He opened the day on fire with birdies on the first two holes. He would par the next three before bogey on No. 6. He bounced back with a birdie on No. 8 before a bogey on the ninth hole had him at 35 on the front nine. Four straight pars followed, but a bogeys on No. 14 and No. 16 bookended a birdie four on the 15^th hole as he finished his second round with a 72.

Senior Thomas Kollberg is tied for 15^th place with 72-75=147. Kollberg finished his second round with three birdies, six bogeys and nine pars.

Junior Liam van Deventer moved up six spots on the leaderboard to 26^th place with his 36-hole total of 76-74=150. He overcame a terrible start where he was three over through seven holes including a triple bogey on No. 7. But van Deventer would shoot one-under par for his final 11 holes.

Junior Isak Holter rounds out the Tusculum scoring with 78-81=159 and is in 45^th place.

The final round of the SAC Championship will be held on Tuesday with split tee times beginning at 8:30 a.m. Tusculum will be playing in the final sets of tee times with Anderson and Lenoir-Rhyne beginning at 9:15 a.m. on the first tee.

The winner of the SAC Championship will earn the league's automatic berth to next month's NCAA Division II Super Regional in Davie, Florida.

2023 SAC Men's Golf Championship

Tusculum Individual Scores