Box Score GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – The King University men's basketball team stayed on the road to open the season as they squared off with regional rival Tusculum College on Saturday evening. The Tornado opened up a sizable advantage in the first half and held the lead at halftime, only to see Tusculum come back in the second half to take the contest 88-81.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Tusculum 88, King 81
LOCATION: Greeneville, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 0-2; Tusculum 2-0
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Tusculum scored the first basket of the game, but King answered with seven straight points, capped by a three-point basket from C.J. Good.
- In the middle of the first half, King turned a three point advantage into a 15 points lead following a 14-2 run.
- Jordan Floyd sparked the run with a three-point basket and jump shot, Good then drilled a pair of triples around a trifecta from Mack Owens to give King a 32-17 lead.
- Hunter LeVeau capped an 8-1 run that gave King a 40-22 lead with a triple.
- With three minutes remaining, Mike Salomon made a layup to give King their largest lead of the contest at 47-24.
- Tusculum then scored eight straight points to cut their deficit to 47-32 with one minute remaining.
- Owens made a layup and LeVeau drilled a triple to get the Tornado back on the board before the Pioneers scored the final points of the half to make the score 52-37 at the break.
- King shot 54.1 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from three-point range in the first half while holding the Pioneers to 40.0 percent in the opening frame.
- Derick Pope stretched the King lead to 59-42 early in the second half before the Pioneers went on a run.
- Tusculum scored nine straight points to cut their deficit to 59-51 before Salomon ended the run with a triple for the Tornado.
- King again led by nine before a 12-2 Tusculum run gave the Pioneers a 66-65 lead midway through the second half.
- The teams then went back-and-forth as the score was tied four times over the next four mintues.
- Keaton Doston gave Tusculum a 75-73 lead with a jump shot with five minutes remaining, and the Pioneers held the lead for the rest of the contest.
- Free throws from Pope twice pulled King within one, but they couldn't get any closer and the Pioneers scored the final five points to take the contest 88-81.
- Good led King with 20 points, going 7-for-11 from the floor and 5-for-8 from three-point range.
- LeVeau followed with 18 points to go along with seven rebounds.
- Owens chipped in with 12 and Floyd added 10 points.
- Shon'Dre Dukes matched LeVeau for the team-lead with seven rebounds and Je'Don Young handed out four assists.
FOR THE FOES
- Ronnie Baylark scored 23 points and added six rebounds to lead Tusculum
- Zach Davis scored 20 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
- Kendall Patterson added 19 points and Cory Fagan chipped in with 10 points.
UP NEXT
- King plays their home opener on Wednesday when they host Young Harris College on Wednesday night. Tipoff from the Student Center Complex is slated for 7:00 p.m.
- Tusculum travels to Belmont Abbey College on Wednesday night.
