Tusculum College has punched its ticket for next weekend's NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament. The Pioneers will be the No. 8 seed and will face top-seeded and host Bowie State University in the first round of the South Atlantic Regional in Bowie, Md. Game dates and times will be announced on Monday.

The Pioneers (18-10) earned an automatic berth by capturing the 2005 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament with Sunday's 79-73 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne College.

Tusculum, under the direction of second-year head coach Duggar Baucom, advances to the NCAA postseason for the first time in school history. The Pioneers head to Maryland riding a four-game winning streak and winners of seven of their last eight.

The winner of the Tusculum/Bowie State game will face either No. 4 Kennesaw State/No. 5 Columbus State in a regional semifinal. Also competing in Bowie, Md. is South Atlantic Conference member Catawba College, who will face Virginia Union University. USC Upstate and Winston-Salem State University round out the eight-team region field. The survivor of the South Atlantic Regional will advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, March 23-26 in Grand Forks, N.D.

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