Troutman hits game-winner, Pioneers beat Wingate 70-68

Box Score

WINGATE, N.C. --- Rob Troutman canned the game-winning jumper with 8.9 seconds left to lead the Tusculum College men’s basketball team to a thrilling 70-68 South Atlantic Conference victory at Wingate University Saturday afternoon at Cuddy Arena.

The Pioneers (10-8, 4-3 SAC) have won four of their last five games, while winning at Wingate for the first time in four seasons.

The contest was a thriller down to the end in a game that included 14 ties and 17 lead changes.

Kyle Moore paced Tusculum with 16 points, while Jimmy Boone and Josh Bennett added 15 and 13 points, respectively.  Troutman finished with seven rebounds and six assists to go along with his nine points.

Wingate’s Jamie Vaughn led all scorers with 26 points, shooting 9-of-14 from floor, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the three-point territory.  Quan Alexander added 15 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots, while Odell Turner accounted for nine points and a game-high 12 boards for the Bulldogs (10-8, 3-4 SAC).

Wingate led 41-38 at halftime and later increased its advantage to 48-44 following a rebound and put-back by Paidrick Matilus with 15:31 remaining.  Tusculum responded with back-to-back baskets by Taylor to tie the game at 48-48 with 14:29 left on the clock.  For the remainder of the game, neither team would lead by more than two points as the contest was a see-saw affair.

Tusculum led 63-61 following a pair of free throws by Bennett with 3:27 remaining, but Wingate answered with a Vaughn three-pointer to recapture the lead at 64-63 with 2:36 left.

Troutman made one of two free throws, while Justin Steigerwald added a pair of free throws to put TC up 66-64 with 1:29 left.  Wingate knotted the game at 66-66 as Vaughn made both of his free throw attempts with 1:11 remaining on the clock.

On its next possession, Boone missed the lay-up, but Bennett came through with the tip-in as the Pioneers led 68-66 with 57 seconds left.

After a timeout, Matilus was fouled with 40 seconds on the board, sending him to the foul line where he made his two free throws to tie the game for the 14th and final time.

Tusculum worked the shot clock down as Troutman connected on his running jumper in the lane to put the Pioneers up 70-68.

Wingate had two chances to force overtime in the final seconds. Vaughn missed a jumper with three seconds left. Troutman gathered in the rebound, but he was called for traveling with exactly one second to play.
 
Wingate called time out and designed a set play for Turner. Ethan Kincaid threw a lob towards the hoop, but Turner missed the lay-up at the buzzer.

Tusculum finished the game shooting 52.2 percent from the field, including 13-of-23 in the first half (56.5%).

Tusculum returns home Wednesday night to host cross-mountain rival Mars Hill College for an 8 p.m. contest at Pioneer Arena.

- TC -