Tuesday, December 19, 2006

 

POORE HITS LAST SECOND GAME-WINNER TO BEAT KING 57-55

 

                GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Chris Poore scored the winning bucket with 2.4 seconds remaining in the game to lead Tusculum College to a 57-55 win over visiting King College Tuesday night at Pioneer Arena.  The Pioneers (7-3) remain undefeated at home this season while the Tornado falls to 8-6 on the year.

 

                The Pioneers were led in scoring by Jordan Lear who poured in a game-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers.  Serge Poppe added 10 markers while Gabe Story added seven points and 10 rebounds before fouling out midway through the second half.  Poore finished with eight points, including 4-for-7 from the field.

 

                King was led by Torrington Cox who posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.  Nick Pasqua accounted for 13 points and Clarence Smith added 11 points in the loss for the Tornado.

 

                Tusculum rallied from a seven-point deficit with 5:32 left in the game (51-44) as the Pioneers went on an 11-4 run capped off by Lear’s three-pointer with 1:47 to tie the contest at 55-55.

 

                King jumped out to an early 9-4 advantage as the Tornado canned its first 3-point shots.  But the Pioneers answered with 11 straight points, including a three-pointer by Poppe and a lay-up by Story.  TC would lead for the remained of the opening period, including its largest advantage at 26-17 at the 4:40 mark.  King would score the final seven points of the half, including Pasqua three-pointer at the buzzer as TC led 26-24 at intermission.

 

                In the second period, King used a 7-0 run in the opening moments to take a 32-29 and increased that lead 51-44 with under six minutes left including a pair of free throws by Cox as he finished the night going 8-for-8 from the line.

 

                Tusculum shot 44.7 percent from the floor, while limiting KC to 34.5 percent.  TC also won the battle of the boards by a 43-27 margin.  Tusculum committed 25 turnovers, which King converted into 21 points.

 

                Tusculum wraps up its pre-holiday schedule and will host Presbyterian College on Jan. 3 in TC’s South Atlantic Conference opener.  King closes out its pre-holiday schedule on Thursday when they face Chattanooga.

 

- TC -