WINGATE, N.C. — Tusculum (1-5, 1-1 SAC) picks up its first win of the year after opening the regular-season with six consecutive road games. It was also the 99th TU victory for head coach JT Burton who will be going for win No. 100 this Tuesday when they host Newberry at Pioneer Arena in Tusculum’s home opener.
The Pioneers shot a season-best 57.1 percent from the field including 12-of-27 from three-point territory (44.4%) and made 20 of their 21 free throw attempts including Jackson who tied a school single-game record for percentage going 10-of-10, all coming in the second period.
Jackson and Hale each finished shooting 8-of-11 from the floor including Hale who went 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. TU freshman Jason Britton posted a season-best 14 markers. The twin brother combo of Taj and Denaj Kimber accounted for nine and eight points respectively, senior Akeem Odusipe finished with seven points and nine rebounds in the victory.
Wingate’s Kendall Taylor led the way with his 22 points, Jaden Lingo tallied 16 points and Mike Erbeck and Blessed Barhayiga scored 13 and 12 points, respectively for the Bulldogs (0-3, 0-2 SAC).
Tusculum overcame a 40-39 halftime deficit and outscored Wingate 57-44 in the second half thanks to going a perfect 19-of-19 at the free throw line.
The game included 12 ties and nine lead changes with the last coming with 15:53 left in the game when Taj Kimber hit a three-pointer to put the Pioneers up 51-48.
With TU up 62-58 with 10:17 on the clock, the Pioneers used a 12-3 spurt which was capped off by a Hale triple to give the visitors a 74-61 advantage with 7:53 to go.
Tusculum took its largest lead of the contest at 78-63 following a pair of made free throws by Britton with 6:48 left.
Wingate trimmed the deficit to 83-77 after Kendall Taylor converted a TU turnover into offense with 2:01 remaining. TU pushed the lead back out to double digits for good as Britton made two free throws and Hale converted a three-point play 1:17 on the clock for an 88-77 lead.
Tusculum wins at Wingate for the first time since 2019, marking only its seventh victory ever at Cuddy Arena. TU’s 96 points are a season-high and are the fourth-most by the Pioneers against Wingate in the history of the series.
