MURFREESBORO, N.C. --- The Tusculum Pioneers scored 64 points in the second half while shooting a blistering 72 percent in a 97-72 win over Clayton State Friday. It was the opening game of the Conference Tip-Off Challenge at the Hawks Athletic Center on the campus of Chowan University.
Tusculum's 97-point outburst are the most points scored in a Pioneer season-opener since tallying 97 in the 1994 lid-lifter at Lee.
TU's Bryce Jackson scored a game-high 16 points to lead five Pioneers in double figures. TJ Printup (13 pts, 12 reb) and Amari Allen (12 pts, 11 reb) each had double-doubles, while Malachi Hale and Denaj Kimber finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Kimber tied a TU single-game record going a perfect 5-of-5 from the field, while Hale went 5-of-8 from the floor including 3-of-3 from three-point territory.
Tusculum (1-0) ended the game shooting 35-of-60 for 58.3 percent including 7-of-15 from three-point land (47%) and 20-of-29 from the free throw line (69%).
The Lakers (0-1) were led in scoring by DJ Wright's 13 points, Dezmond Perkins added 11 points and Joe Thomas finished with 10 markers in the loss.
Both teams got off to a sluggish start with Hale breaking through with a layup at the 18:39 mark of the half. CSU responded with a 9-2 run thanks to five markers from Andre Young as the Lakers led 9-4 with 16:03 to go in the period.
Tusculum answered with a 10-3 run and regained the lead at 14-12 on Damjan Vukcevic's post-up bucket in the paint with 9:57 on the clock.
The lead would exchange hands several times for the remainder of the period. After a dunk by Young to give CSU a 26-23 advantage, Tusculum scored six in a row including a jumper in the paint by freshman Jordan Attia as the Pioneers led 29-26 with 1:24 left in the half.
The teams traded buckets but Printup would connect on a pair of free throws with 2.7 seconds on the clock as the Pioneers took a 33-30 lead into the locker room.
Tusculum broke a 35-35 tie with eight straight points including five from Jackson and a Hale three-pointer to take a 43-35 advantage with 17:25 remaining. Chowan trimmed the deficit to 43-40 following a basket by Wright and a tip-in from Jojo Bell.
Jackson and Printup answered with a bucket each to push the lead out to 47-40 with 15:31 on the scoreboard.
With the Pioneers ahead 47-42, Tusculum went on an 11-2 run over a span of 3:09 to extend the lead to 58-44.
TU pushed the lead out to 15 (63-48) on J3 Swindell's three-pointer, but the Lakers responded Thomas three-pointer and an old-fashion three-point play from Tahai Morgan to cut the deficit to single digits at 63-54 with 9:16 to go.
The Pioneers halted the run with six straight points to spark an 18-7 run to go ahead 81-61 following a Hale triple with 4:21 on the clock and put the game out of reach.
Tusculum went 23-of-32 from the field in the second half, while the Lakers shot a respectable 14-of-31 (45%) from the floor. TU owned a 46-28 advantage on the boards including 36-of-15 on the defensive glass.
The Pioneers committed 14 turnovers in the game with 11 of them coming in the first half. TU tallied seven blocked shots including a career-high three by Printup and a pair of rejections from Vukcevic.
Swindell and Taj Kimber scored seven points each, Vukcevic, Attia and Jeremiah Wilson finished with four markers apiece, while Naim Ibroci (3), Wesley Johnson (2) and Lorenzo Sedita (2) also found their way into the scoring column.
Tusculum will face host Chowan on Saturday at 4 p.m.
