Bennett, Moore lead Tusculum to 59-50 SAC win over Catawba

Box Score

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Josh Bennett posted 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the Tusculum College men’s basketball team to a 59-50 South Atlantic Conference victory over Catawba College Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.

In a rematch of last year’s South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship game where Catawba edged the Pioneers 63-61, Tusculum bounced back to halt the Indians’ three-game winning streak.

The Pioneers (7-7, 2-2 SAC) were paced by 18 points from Kyle Moore, including his 8-of-8 performance at the charity stripe as Tusculum went perfect at the free throw line making all 13 of its attempts, including 10-of-10 in the second half.

TC’s Rob Troutman added 11 points, shooting 4-of-5 from the floor, while Justin Steigerwald added four points, seven assists and a career-high 10 rebounds.  Wes Taylor accounted for four markers and 10 boards off the bench.

Catawba’s Stephen Coles led the Indians (8-6, 1-2 SAC) with 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots, while Dominick Reid accounted for 10 points, five boards and four assists in the loss.

Tusculum used a 14-2 run over a span of 7:14 in the first half to take its largest lead of the afternoon at 30-17.  Bennett paced Tusculum with eight of his 13 first half points as the Pioneers led 30-21 at the intermission.

Catawba started the second half with a 12-2 spurt in the opening 5:47 to take its first lead of the contest at 33-32 following a jumper by Justin Huntley with 14:13 remaining in the game.  During the Catawba run, Coles and Donzell Williams each recorded four points for the Tribe.

The lead would bounce back and forth over the next five minutes, including four ties with the last one coming at 40-40.  The Pioneers would used an 8-2 run, including six points by Moore and a pair of free throws from Troutman as TC led 48-42 with 5:07 left in the contest.

Catawba would trim the deficit to four points with 3:24 left thanks to a pair of Reid free throws.  Tusculum answered with a critical 7-2 run, including a clutch three-pointer by Jimmy Boone with 2:12 left on the clock to spark the spurt.

Tusculum would make its final four free throws, coupled with a Troutman lay-up to seal the victory.

Tusculum finished the game shooting 43.1 percent, while limiting Catawba to shoot just 33.9 percent from the floor, including 8-of-30 in the opening half (26.7%).  The Pioneers also edged Catawba on the boards by a 35-34 margin.

Tusculum’s 13-of-13 free throw effort is the second-best performance by the Pioneers in recorded school history.  TC shot 14-of-14 against Clinch Valley on Feb. 21, 1995.  The last time Tusculum was perfect at the line was Feb. 23, 2000 when the Pioneers went 2-of-2 at Presbyterian.

Tusculum will step out of SAC play on Tuesday when the Pioneers host Mid-Continent University for an 8 p.m. contest at Pioneer Arena.  It will be the first-ever meeting between the Pioneers and Cougars.  Catawba returns home on Wednesday to host Brevard College for an 8 p.m. game.

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