GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Freshman Jordan Attia scored a season-high 17 points to lead the Tusculum University men’s basketball team to a 78-71 non-conference win over Bluefield State University Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
Tusculum (7-5) records its first three-game winning streak of the year while the Big Blues drop to 3-10 on the campaign.
TU junior Amari Allen added 13 points and eight rebounds, while junior TJ Printup posted 11 points, nine rebounds, two blocked shots and dished out a career-high five assists with zero turnovers in his 30 minutes of play. Junior center Damjan Vukcevic contributed10 points on 5-of-7 shooting while grabbing four boards and two blocks.
Bluefield State was in scoring by senior Myles Pierre who finished with a game-high 19 points, while junior Anthony Davenport tallied 17 points and hauled in 11 boards in the loss. Senior Warren Mouganda tallied 15 points, while junior guard Ellija Preddy had a dozen points and dished out eight assists for the visitors.
The Tusculum trio of Malachi Hale, Wesley Johnson and Bryce Jackson each accounted for eight points. Jackson had five assists and posted four rebounds. He needs seven more points to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau for his career and is looking to become only the 30th member of that esteemed group.
The Pioneers led throughout most of the contest and used a 16-6 run which spanned the first and second halves as TU took a 42-27 advantage with 17:10 left in the game.
Tusculum took its largest lead at 48-31 following a pair of Johnson free throws with 14:33 to go.
TU saw its double-digit lead whittled down to nine at 57-48 following a 17-9 spurt and capped off by a driving layup by Mouganda with 10 minutes remaining.
Tusculum answered with a 9-3 run over the next two minutes thanks to pair of triples by Attia and a three-pointer from Jackson as the Pioneers led 66-51 with 8:02 to go.
But Bluefield State used a full-court press down the stretch and went on an 11-1 run to trim the deficit down to four at 69-65 following a Pierre three-pointer with 4:29 on the clock.
Tusculum answered with a key 7-0 spurt thanks to buckets from Attia and Allen and a big triple from Hale as the lead swelled to 11 (79-65) with 2:33 remaining.
The Big Blues scored four straight points on baskets by Pierre and Davenport to make it a 76-69 came with 1:57 remaining. TU would come up empty on its next two possessions, while Bluefield State drew fouls. But the Big Blues could not capitalize as they would go 2-of-4 at the free throw line down the stretch and got to within 76-71 with 50 seconds remaining.
Bluefield State forced a TU turnover but come up empty on missed layup as Allen came down with the rebound and was fouled with 6.5 seconds left. He made both free throws to put the game out of reach as Tusculum posted the seven-point victory.
TU ended the game shooting 46 percent from the floor including 10-of-23 from three-point territory as Attia finished with three triples, while Johnson and Hale each had a pair. Both teams shot well at the free throw line as Tusculum went 12-of-14 from the line (86%), while the Big Blues shot 14-of-18 from the stripe (79%).
TU held a 37-34 advantage in rebounding and finished the contest with five blocked shots.
The Pioneers return to South Atlantic Conference play on Wednesday when they make the short trip to Harrogate to face long-time rival Lincoln Memorial University for a 7:30 p.m. contest from Tex Turner Arena.
