Greeneville, Tenn.----The Tusculum College Pioneers scored the first 15 points of the game on their way to a 87-68 win over the visiting Wingate University Bulldogs in South Atlantic Conference men’s basketball action Wednesday night in Pioneer Arena. Tusculum improves to 13-10 overall and 7-5 in the SAC. The Bulldogs fall to 11-11 on the year and 4-7 in the conference. 

Tusculum senior guard Kyle Moore (Gainesville, Fla.) led the way with 35 points, knocking down six-of-nine from beyond the arc and 11-of-12 from the free throw line. Junior forward Rob Troutman (Mt. Washington, Ky.) added 17 points, while senior guard Jimmy Boone (Greeneville, Tenn.) contributed nine points and eight assists. 

Sophomore guard Jaime Vaughn (McDonough, Ga.) led the Bulldogs with 17 points, hitting five-of-eight shots from the field. Freshman guards Ethan Kincaid (Morganton, N.C.) and Paidrick Matilus (Boynton Beach, Fla.) added 14 and 12 points, respectively. Senior guard/forward David Johnson (Durham, N.C.) had 10 points for the Bulldogs. 

The Pioneers came out and hit five consecutive three pointers to take a 15-0 lead. Boone and Troutman hit a pair of trifectas each in the early spurt for Tusculum. A Troutman free throw at the 6:48 mark gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the half at 26-6. 

A 6-0 run gave Tusculum a 30-point lead nine minutes into the second half, capped by a pair of Moore free throws. The Bulldogs answered with an 18-8 run to cut the lead to 20. Vaughn had 12 consecutive points for Wingate in the spurt. The Bulldogs would get no closer until a three from sophomore guard Chase Smith (Upper Marlboro, Md.) with one second left. 

Tusculum shot 50 percent from the field, while hitting 12-of-21 shots from three-point range (57.1 percent). Wingate shot 38.2 percent from the field, while knocking down nine-of-22 from three-point land (40.9 percent). Tusculum converted 17 Wingate turnovers into 20 points. The Bulldogs held a 37-31 rebounding advantage. 

Wingate returns to action Saturday, traveling to Brevard College for a 4 p.m. start. Tusculum visits local rival Carson-Newman College Saturday for an 8 p.m. start. 

(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)