Kyle Moore buries one of his nine 3-pointers in Tusculum's 72-50 win over Lees-McRae

Moore Scores 41, Pioneers Beat Lees-McRae 72-50

TC All-American tallies nine treys in victory

Box Score

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Kyle Moore exploded for a season-high 41 points, including a career-best nine 3-pointers to lead Tusculum College to a 72-50 victory over visiting Lees-McRae College Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.

Moore, a senior from Gainesville, Fla., went 14-for-20 from the floor, including 9-of-15 from three-point territory.  He also went 4-for-5 from the free throw line, while hauling in six rebounds as the Pioneers (5-4) recorded their fifth straight win over the Bobcats (0-6).

Moore’s 41-point outburst was one marker shy of his personal best of 42, which he established against Columbus State University last season.  Wednesday’s offensive output is tied for the seventh most points by a Pioneer and sixth best in South Atlantic Conference history.  His nine three-point field goals are tied for third most in school history.

Tusculum jumped out of the gate, using a 26-9 run in the first 11:40 of the contest, including 17 points by Moore.  During that spurt, Moore connected on four 3-pointers and capped off the run with a three-point play with 8:20 left in the period.

The Bobcats answered with a run of their own, outscoring the Pioneers by a 13-2 margin over the next 4:32 to trim the deficit to 28-22 with 3:38 left before halftime.  Moore would can an 18-foot jumper at the buzzer to cap his 22-point first half performance and send the Pioneers into the locker room with a 33-26 lead.

TC opened the second half with an 8-2 run in the first five minutes, that included a trey by junior Rob Troutman and five points by Moore as the Pioneers led 41-28.  Lees-McRae cut the lead to single-digits (41-32) once again with baskets by Adam McFerran and Jeremy Helms.

But the Pioneers put the game away with a 14-3 outburst over the next 4:30 as TC increased its advantage to 55-35.  Moore tallied nine points, including two trifectas during the run, while senior Jimmy Boone connected on three of his 10 points as Tusculum led 55-35 with 8:50 left on the clock.  The Pioneers would increase its advantage to 24 points at 64-40 with 5:28 left following a bucket by senior Josh Bennett to seal the victory.

Tusculum, who led wire-to-wire for a second straight contest, shot 53.1 percent from the floor, including a sizzling 14-of-24 in the second half (58.3%).  On the evening, Tusculum also went 12-of-23 from beyond the arc (12-of-23), while limiting the Bobcats to shoot 33.3 percent from the field and 3-of-16 from long range (18.8%).

Boone led Tusculum with six assists, while senior Wes Taylor finished with six points, four assists and a game-high eight rebounds.  Bennett tallied six markers and seven rebounds, while Troutman finished with seven points in the victory.

McFerran led the Bobcats with 14 points, with a dozen coming in the first half.  McFerran shot 6-of-13 from the floor, while grabbing a team-best seven boards.  Sam Youse added 10 points, while Jesse Hoots and ReShon Benjamin tallied six markers each in the loss.

Moore also continues to climb the career three-point record book.  The 2009 All-American has recorded 225 three-point field goals in a Tusculum uniform, which are second in school history and third all-time in the SAC record book.  He also climbed into the top 10 in the Tusculum scoring list as ehe eclipsed the 1,300-point plateau in his three seasons at TC.  The two-time All-SAC standout has totaled 1,330 points at Tusculum, which are ninth most in Pioneer history.

Tusculum will face its stiffest challenge yet of the young season as they host fourth-ranked Augusta State University on Saturday afternoon for a 4 p.m. tip-off in the SAC/Peach Belt Challenge at Pioneer Arena.  The contest against the nationally-ranked Jaguars (6-0) will be a rematch of last season’s opening round of the NCAA Division II Tournament where top-seed and host ASU edged the Pioneers, 62-60.  Augusta State will be the highest ranked team to ever visit Tusculum.

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