ELON, N.C. – Kyle Moore poured in 23 points and tallied five three-point field goals and five assists to pace Tusculum to a 74-60 non-conference men’s basketball triumph over Elon Wednesday night at Alumni Gym.
The Pioneers (3-4), NCAA Division II members of the South Atlantic Conference, exploded for a commanding 33-16 advantage on a three-point basket by Jordan Lear with 4:45 remaining in the first half on their way to fashioning a 39-22 halftime edge.
The Phoenix (4-4) soared to a 27-13 run to open the second stanza, drawing within 52-49 on a layup by Adam Constantine with 8:43 to go in the contest. Tusculum later reeled off 11 consecutive points to extend a 54-51 lead to 65-51 on a three-point bucket by Ryan Troutman with 2:23 to play.
Moore sank five of his eight shots from beyond the three-point line and six of his seven attempts from the charity stripe. The Pioneers received 18 points and nine rebounds from Lear and 13 points from Jimmy Boone.
Tusculum fired 48.9 percent (22 of 45) from the field – 59.1 percent (13 of 22) in the first period – and 68 percent (17 of 25) from the free throw line. The Pioneers shot a sizzling 61.9 percent (13 of 21) from three-point land.
Elon hit 37.7 percent (23 of 61) of its shots from the floor and 68.8 percent (11 of 16) of its tries from the stripe. The Phoenix connected on just 14.3 percent (3 of 21) of its attempts from beyond the arc, missing all nine of its first-half shots from behind the three-point line.
Elon won the battle of the boards (36-33) and turnovers (11-13) and outscored Tusculum 32-14 in the paint, 11-5 off second chances and 13-8 off the bench. The Pioneers, who led throughout, outscored the Phoenix 17-13 off turnovers.
Elon, which entered the contest with a 4-0 record at Alumni Gym on the season, suffered its first home loss and its first setback of the year when outrebounding its opponent.
“I feel for our kids,” Elon coach Ernie Nestor said. “Our inability to score consistently was the difference. You do not win games when that happens and you surely do not when games when you start the second half down 17 points. You cannot have a dead period. You just cannot have one because you are battling to make up such ground.”
The Phoenix’s Ola Atoyebi canned a career-best 10 of his 16 shots from the field and all five of his tries from the free throw line on his way to posting 25 points and 13 rebounds – both career highs – to forge his second double-double performance of both the season and his career. His five free throws also marked a career high.
Chris Long tallied 18 points, a career-high eight rebounds and a team-high five assists – tying a career high – and teammate Devan Carter scored a season-high 11 points for the Phoenix. Elon’s T.J. Douglas pulled down a career-high five rebounds while teammate Terrance Birdette scored the first points of his career, knocking down a pair of freebies.
Tusculum visits Concord at 4 p.m. Saturday while Elon will take a break to concentrate on final exams. The Phoenix will return to the court when Wofford visits Alumni Gym at 7 p.m. on Dec. 15.
–ELON–