HICKORY, N.C. --- Sophomore Inady Legiste scored a career-high 24 points in leading the Tusculum University men's basketball team to a 69-49 South Atlantic Conference victory at Lenoir-Rhyne University Saturday afternoon at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium.
The Pioneers (7-4, 7-2 SAC) hold their second straight opponent under 60 points and move into a two-way tie for first place in the league standings with Queens (10-2, 7-2 SAC). TU is also a half of a game ahead of Lincoln Memorial (9-2, 6-2 SAC). TU records its fourth consecutive victory over the Bears (3-7, 2-5 SAC) as the Pioneers used a key 17-4 run en route to the win.
The 49 points allowed by the Pioneers are the fewest posted by a TU opponent since Carson-Newman on Jan. 14, 2019. This marks the 13th time in the past three-plus seasons Tusculum has held the opposition under 60 points. During that span, TU is a perfect 13-0 in those games.
Legiste went 11-of-14 from the floor including 2-of-3 from three-point territory while also hauling in five rebounds and posted two blocked shots in his 26 minutes off the bench. His 24-point performance surpasses his previous career-high of 21 markers he tallied last month against Limestone.
Tusculum's Trenton Gibson had his string of 20-point games halted at four in a row, but he finished with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for his 10th career double-double. Gibson also dished out a game-high six assists.
TU's William Vedder accounted for his third double-double of the season with his 10 points and 10 boards as the Pioneers out-rebounded Lenoir-Rhyne by a 54-23 margin including 23-2 on the offensive glass.
Jalen Crowder poured in three triples in the first half for his nine points, while Brandon Mitchell added five points and eight boards for the visitors.
The Bears did not have a player in double-digit scoring as T.J. Nesmith finished with nine points, while the trio of Jalen Johnson, Kevin Kangu and Cooper Fowler recorded eight points apiece.
Lenoir-Rhyne made its first three shots, while Tusculum started 0-for-4 as the Bears scored the first five points of the game and led 11-6 following a Johnson basket at the 14:43 mark.
The Pioneers scored seven straight points including five from Gibson and a tip-in by Legiste to tie the game at 13-13. With the score tied 15-15, Crowder would give the Pioneers their first lead of the day with his long-range triple for an 18-17 advantage with 10 minutes left before halftime. It would be a lead Tusculum would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
The Pioneers would make four straight shots and took its first double-digit lead of the afternoon on Crowder's third trifectas as Tusculum led 33-23 with 4:05 on the clock.
The Bears finished the half with a 9-3 spurt including a Kangu triple just before halftime as Tusculum took a 36-32 lead into the intermission.
Tusculum opened the second half with a 9-3 run of its own to take a 45-35 advantage with 16:18 remaining. Legiste's second triple of the game gave the Pioneers a 50-37 lead at the 13:40 mark. L-R got buckets by Sallie Wilson and Nas Tyson to cut the deficit to single digits. But the Pioneers answered with a 6-0 run which included four points by Legiste and a Joshua Scott layup for a 56-41 TU lead with under 10 minutes remaining.
Lenoir-Rhyne would cut the TU lead down to a dozen (58-46) but that would be as close as the Bears would get.
The 20-point margin of victory is the largest over the Bears since a 74-27 TU win in Hickory on Jan. 2, 2010. That was also part of the last time the Pioneers have won four in a row since 2009-2011.
The Pioneers finished the game shooting 27-of-67 from the floor for 40.3 percent including seven 3-pointers and went 8-of-13 at the charity stripe. The Bears shot 39 percent (20-of-52) and were limited to two 3-pointers, seven below their seasonal average.
Tusculum forced 13 turnovers on 10 steals, including four by freshman KJ Crump.
With his 15-point effort, Gibson continues his climb up the TU scoring list. His 1,380 career points are the 11th most in school history, surpassing former All-VSAC standout Jerry Wallen (1,375 from 1963-1967). Gibson is 120 points away from moving into the Tusculum top-10.
Mitchell also moved up in the TU record book as he jumped past former All-SAC center Chase Mounce for the No. 4 spot on the all-time Pioneer rebounds list with 689 career boards.
Tusculum will return to action on Jan. 5 when they host Wingate University for a 4 p.m. contest at Pioneer Arena. The Pioneers will be looking to avenge last week's 92-75 road loss to the Bulldogs.
