GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – While shooting better than 50 percent on the night, fourth-seeded Tusculum captured an 86-65 win over No. 5 seed Anderson in the opening round of the SAC Pilot Flying J Men's Basketball Championship, Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.
Anderson saw its season end with a 17-12 mark, while Tusculum (19-12) defeated the Trojans for the third time this season and advanced to meet top-seeded and nationally second-ranked Lincoln Memorial in Saturday's semifinals.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Junior forward Josh Livingston scored a team-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while senior guard Shawn Benard and sophomore forward Satchel Hester each netted 13 points apiece. Freshman guard Crosby James II added nine points, with junior guard Quin Nottingham tallying seven points and pulling down a team-high eight rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
After misfiring on its first three shot attempts, the Trojans jumped out to a 4-0 lead, while the AU defense forced the Pioneers into four early turnovers and held Tusculum scoreless until the 16:31 mark.
The Trojans pushed out to a 10-4 edge on Nottingham's lone 3-pointer of the night with less than 15 minutes on the clock, but Tusculum responded by scoring eight unanswered points and claimed its first lead of the night, at 12-10.
Junior guard Alex Keel and Livingston slowed the Pioneers and regained a 15-12 lead for the Black and Gold, but it was the last lead of the night for the Trojans, as Tusculum countered with an 11-4 run that turned the three-point AU lead into a four-point advantage for Tusculum with 4:52 remaining on the clock. TU built its lead to 31-23 before the Trojans chipped away and pulled within 33-30 on James' 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Second Half
The Pioneers opened the second frame on an 11-2 run and claimed a 44-32 lead less than six minutes into the half.
Livingston nailed a 3-pointer with 12:52 left in the game to pull AU within 47-37, but it was as close as the Trojans would get the rest of the way.
STAT OF THE NIGHT
Tusculum connected on 9-of-14 (64.3%) 3-point attempts.
NOTABLES
• The Pioneers won the rebounding battle, 44-24.
• The No. 5 seed was AU's highest seed since garnering the third seed in 2014.
• The Trojans were making their fourth straight appearance in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament and their eighth overall appearance since joining the conference for the 2010-11 campaign.
• The Trojans are 5-8 in their eight appearances in the postseason SAC Tournament.
