GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Freshman Fred Bailey poured in a game-high 27 points to lead the Trevecca Nazarene men’s basketball team to a 98-75 win at Tusculum Saturday afternoon in non-conference action at Pioneer Arena.
The Trojans (3-1) shot a blistering 71.4 percent from the floor as Trevecca went 35-of-49 and knocked down 12 of its 18 three-point tries for 67 percent.
In just 22 minutes of play, Bailey went 11-of-13 from the floor while also dishing out five assists and tallied a pair of steals in the victory.
TNU’s Spencer White added 15 points as he went 5-of-5 from the floor including two triples and went 3-of-4 from the foul line. Brett Wright tallied 14 points, while Jax Abernathy and Da’Shon Fisher finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Tusculum sophomore J3 Swindell scored a career-best 15 markers, while Bryce Jackson tallied 13 points and nine rebounds, and Damjan Vukcevic posted 10 points and six boards as the Pioneers (2-2) dropped its home opener.
TU jumped out to an early 7-2 lead thanks to a Swindell three-point play and a Vukcevic hook shot. Trevecca responded with an 16-2 run as Bailey accounted for 10 points during the spurt as the Trojans led 18-9 with 13:33 left in the half forcing a TU timeout.
Tusculum’s Taj Kimber buried a layup, before Trevecca got a White layup and a Justin Bass three-pointer as TNU extended the lead to 23-11 with 11:50 on the clock.
With Trevecca ahead 27-16, Tusculum trimmed the deficit to six (27-21) as rookie Jordan Attia scored five straight.
With two minutes left in the period and the visitors leading 41-34, the Trojans scored six straight on three-pointers by White and Bass as Trevecca led 47-34. The teams would exchange free throws before TNU took a 49-36 lead into the locker room.
The Trojans opened the second half with a 19-9 run in the opening 6:32 to extend their advantage to 68-45 with 13:28 remaining. Trevecca would lead by as many as 27 (88-61) before settling for the 23-point victory.
TNU missed only six shots in the second half going 18-of-24 (75%) including 6-of-10 from three-point land.
Tusculum ended the game shooting 42 percent (30-of-72) while making four 3-pointers in 21 attempts (19%). TU also shot 11-of-19 from the free throw line for 58 percent.
The Pioneers did edge Trevecca Nazarene on the boards (34-32) and were even in scoring in the paint (44-44). The Trojans finished the contest with 21 fast break points and led for 36 of the 40 minutes of the game.
TU’s Amari Allen finished with nine points, while TJ Printup and Denaj Kimber had eight points apiece. Taj Kimber had six points, while Attia totaled five points for the Pioneers.
The Pioneers will open South Atlantic Conference play this Tuesday afternoon when they travel to Newberry for a 2 p.m. contest.
