GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – It was a high scoring affair Tuesday night inside the Pioneer Arena as Tusculum University rallied late to defeat UVA Wise, 109-96, in the Cavs season opener. Junior Cameron Whiteside picked up where he left off as he erupted for a career-high 42 points and added 11 rebounds for his seventh career double-double.

Whiteside also marked a career-high in made free throws, going a career-high 18-for-19 at the charity stripe. Two more Cavs scored in double-figures in juniors Kaeleb Carter and Tyler Lloyd. Carter connected on a game-high five three-pointers en route to his 17 points while Lloyd went 5-for-9 from the field as he scored 16 points in his debut.

Tusculum (2-0, 2-0 SAC) opened up the scoring with a three-pointer out the gate by the Pioneers' James West. After trailing through the first four minutes, UVA Wise took its first lead of the night at the 15:52 mark, up 10-9 on a jumper by Whiteside.

Cavalier (0-1, 0-1) turnovers allowed the Pioneers to get back in front, but UVA Wise managed to knot the game at 21-21 on back-to-back triples by Lloyd and Carter with 11:27 to go in the frame.

The two teams went back and forth as the Pioneers gained a slight advantage late in the half. A three by redshirt junior Briggs Parris put the Cavs down by one with a little over a minute to play. Sophomore Drew Greene's free throw with four seconds left closed out the scoring in the first with the game tied 51-51 heading into the half.

Whiteside boasted a game-high 24 points at the break, going 14-for-14 at the line, and added a team-high seven boards.

UVA Wise shot 45.2 percent from the floor and collected 19 rebounds. Both teams turned the ball over seven times in the half while Tusculum shot 48.6 percent from the field. Junior Trenton Gibson led the Pioneers in scoring with 18 points as knocked down all 10 of his free throw attempts.

The second half started slow for both teams with Tusculum gaining a three-point lead, 58-53, on a shot by the Pioneers' Keaston Brown at the 16 minute mark.

Another Whiteside three narrowed the margin to two points with a little under 12 minutes in the game. The Pioneers continued to heat up from the floor as a series of setbacks for the Cavs propelled Tusculum to their first double-digit advantage of the night, 79-69, with less than eight minutes to go.

Freshman Isaiah McAmis' first career points cut the Pioneers lead to eight as he knocked down his first three as a Cavalier.

The Pioneers extended their lead to 16 points late in the game. Whiteside put together a 9-2 run to bring Tusculum's lead back to single-digits, 103-94, with 1:10 on the clock.

Tusculum's Joshua Scott and Gibson combined for the Pioneers' final six points as Whiteside knocked down a pair of free throws to end the game.

The Pioneers shot an impressive 54.5 percent from the field in the second half and outrebounded the Cavs 25-14.

Tusculum's Gibson posted a career-high and team-best 31 points in the Pioneers' win while Joshua Scott added a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Greene dished out a team-high six assists and went 5-for-6 at the line for the Cavs. Freshmen Ryan Johnson and Ben Bryson also scored their first career points in their debut Tuesday night.

Men's basketball will return to action Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. scheduled tip-off against Coker University inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center.