CHARLESTON, S.C. — Lazar Djokovic scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures as the College of Charleston defeated visiting Tusculum 94-71 Tuesday night at TD Arena in an exhibition game for the Pioneers.
The Cougars (6-2) erased an early 5-0 deficit with 12 unanswered points in a span of 1:58 to take a lead they would not surrender for the remainder of the evening.
For Charleston, Tuesday’s result and statistics will count for the Cougars, while the game will be recorded as an exhibition contest for Tusculum.
Justas Stonkus added 16 points off the bench, CJ Fulton posted 13 markers and the duo of Ante Brzovic and AJ Smith contributed 10 points apiece.
Tusculum’s Malachi Hale continued his hot shooting as he tallied a team-high 15 points which included four 3-pointers. Josiah Morris scored 11 points and hauled in five rebounds, while Bryce Jackson, Taj Kimber and Jason Britton tallied seven points each.
Djokovic was nearly perfect on the night as he went 5-of-6 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Charleston shot 52 percent from the floor and recorded 21 assists on its 33 made field goals with Fulton leading the charge with seven helpers. Tusculum finished shooting 41 percent and drained 11 three-pointers for a second consecutive outing.
The Pioneers also got six points each from Naji Hall and Michael Richerson, Akeem Odusipe and Jackson Owens tallied four points each, while freshmen Denaj Kimber and James Mayes III each posted two points.
The Cougars went 22-of-26 from the free throw line while Tusculum made eight of its nine free throw tries. C of C out-rebounded the Pioneers by a 44-27 margin while also dominating the scoring in the paint, 50-18.
The Cougars led 48-30 at halftime, but the Pioneers would trim the deficit to single digits at 58-49 following a Morris triple with 14:34 remaining. The lead swelled to 65-49 following a 7-0 Charleston spurt and a 12-0 run by the Cougars later in the contest sealed the victory.
For Charleston, Tuesday’s result and statistics will count, while the game will be recorded as an exhibition contest for the Pioneers.
Tusculum (5-8) will take its three-game winning streak into Saturday’s South Atlantic Conference game at Lenoir-Rhyne which tips off at 4 p.m.
