GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Bryce Jackson hit the game-winning jumper with 53.3 seconds remaining to lead the Tusculum University men’s basketball team to a 57-55 South Atlantic Conference win over visiting Newberry Tuesday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
It was the 100th victory at Tusculum for head coach JT Burton as he becomes the fastest to eclipse the century mark in wins in program history. It was also Burton’s 250th collegiate win in his 15-year head coaching career.
TU’s Malachi Hale led all scorers with a game-high 16 points as he went 6-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-6 from three-point territory. Jackson finished the game with 15 points and three assists, while Taj Kimber added eight points and a season-best five steals in the victory. TU (2-5, 2-1 SAC) also got five points and seven rebounds from rookie Jason Britton and Ryan Neal added five markers in his 15 minutes off the bench.
Newberry’s Drake Downs accounted for 14 points and nine rebounds, while teammates Malakhi Stremlow and James Lovorn finished with 10 points apiece for the Wolves (2-2, 0-2 SAC).
The Pioneers, who shot a sizzling 20-of-21 from the free throw line in Saturday’s 96-84 victory at Wingate, was cold at the stripe in its home-opener going 12-of-21 from the line (57%) including four straight misses in the final 20 seconds, which left the door open for a possible Newberry comeback.
In a game which saw 10 ties and 12 lead changes, Tusculum erased an eight-point deficit in the second half using a 10-2 run sparked by a Hale triple and five points by Jackson as the Pioneers evened the score at 39-39 with 13:28 left in the game. In fact, neither team led by more than three points for the final 15:27 of the contest.
Tusculum took a three-point lead with under three minutes left with Britton buried a jumper with 3:37 remaining to give TU a 53-50 advantage. Newberry turned the ball over as Kimber picked up his fifth steal of the afternoon, but the Pioneers would come up empty after a missed shot. Newberry would convert on its next possession in a big way as Lovorn hit a three-pointer from the left corner to tie the game at 55-55 as the Wolves called a timeout with 1:58 on the clock.
Jackson would miss a jumper from the wing as Newberry came down with the rebound and a chance to take the lead. Downs shot in the lane was blocked by Akeem Odusipe for his third rejection of the contest as the Pioneers got the board and called a timeout with 1:03 left.
After the timeout, the play went to Jackson as he drove the lane and hit the go-ahead layup with 53.3 seconds remaining.
Newberry missed a shot on its ensuing possession and Hale would be fouled with 20.2 seconds left. He would miss both free throws as the Wolves called timeout with 16.4 seconds left. Lovorn would get off two three-point tries but missed both. Odusipe would be fouled with 4.9 seconds to go, but he two would his free throws as Newberry got one more try and called a timeout with 4.2 seconds on the clock.
The Wolves got off a three-pointer just before the buzzer, but it was off target as Tusculum recorded the hard-fought victory.
TU finished the game shooting 38 percent from the field including 5-of-18 (28%) from three-point territory. Newberry was held to 34 percent on the day including 9-of-32 in the second half (28%). The Wolves also had their struggles from the foul line going 9-of-16 (56%).
Newberry out-rebounded the Pioneers by a 44-39 margin including 13-7 on the offensive glass. Odusipe led Tusculum on the glass with his nine boards.
Burton gets to 100 wins in his 169th game as Tusculum’s head coach. His victory tally is the second-most in the 116-year history of the program. His 250 head coaching wins have come at three schools including Saint Catharine College (95 from 2008-2014), Motlow State (55 from 2015-2017) and Tusculum (100 from 2018-present).
Tusculum returns to action this Saturday as the Pioneers host cross-mountain rival Mars Hill for a 4 p.m. contest.
