Lexington, Ky. – One week after scoring a career-high 37 points, Michael Jefferson torched the nets to the tune of 36 points to lead the Transylvania men's basketball team to a 100-84 win over the Mount St. Joseph University Lions on Wednesday evening at the Beck Center.

Jefferson was nearly perfect on Wednesday, hitting 13 of 15 field goals and canning all three of his 3-point attempts to galvanize a high-powered Pioneers offense to their first triple-digit output of the season, moving to 9-7 overall and 5-4 at the halfway point of Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. Mount St. Joseph fell to 3-13 overall and 1-8 in conference play.

Jefferson hit a career-best 3 for 3 on triples to add to an otherworldly night for the junior, who added six rebounds and a co-team-high four assists in the pivotal victory, adding 7 of 8 made free throws.

Jefferson's theatrics were key in helping the Pioneers gradually build a double-digit lead throughout the first half and then putting away a surging Lions team which threatened a second-half comeback via a barrage of threeballs.

Zach Larimore added 15 points off the bench to go with three rebounds in 26 minutes of work for the Pioneers.

Jefferson and Brandon Cromwell led the initial attack on Wednesday for the Pioneers as Cromwell nailed back-to-back 3-pointers as part of an eight-point night for the freshman. With four points in the bank early, Jefferson scored on consecutive possessions before Larimore knocked in a 3-point bucket to cap off a 7-0 run, leading to a 25-17 Pio advantage. Jefferson completed the first half with 15 points on 6 for 8 shooting, leading the way to his perfect second half in which he would connect on all seven of his field-goal attempts.

Transylvania cultivated a 47-38 lead behind 56 percent shooting from the field while only committing two turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play. With Jefferson scoring on a myriad of drives and the Pioneers gobbling up six offensive rebounds, the Pioneers outscored the Lions 22 to 12 in points in the paint in the first half.

After the Lions tallied the first bucket of the second half, the Pioneers answered with a 13-0 run with the last seven points coming courtesy of Jefferson. The junior from Berea punctuated the run with a breakaway dunk for a 60-42 Pioneer upper hand at the 15:23 mark.

Mount St. Joseph countered with a steady dose of 3-point makes, shooting 8 for 12 from downtown in the second half to pull back within six points at 78-72 with under seven minutes to go.

Jefferson struck again though, earning successive trips to the free-throw line and hitting all four charity shots to stretch the Pioneer lead to double-digits once more. Though the Lions continued to hit from outside, Larimore and Gabe Schmitt came up with timely deliveries to push the Pioneers to the finish line. Larimore buried his second 3-pointer of the night with 3:16 left to hand the Pioneers a 92-80 advantage.

McKinney and Jefferson each came up with crowd-pleasing scores, the junior with a cold-blooded 3-pointer and the senior with a high-flying layup in the final two minutes to help the Pioneers reach the 100-point mark for the first time in the 2019-20 season, eclipsing their 97-point output against Emory and Henry on November 15, 2019.

Schmitt was the other double-digit scorer for the Pioneers with 10 points, adding four assists and a rebound in 31 minutes. McKinney led the Pioneers with eight rebounds as the home team commanded the glass by a difference of 35 to 20.

Transylvania finished the game shooting 47 percent from deep, hitting 9 of 19 three-point attempts while the Lions shot 14 from 27 from outside for a 52 percent clip. The Pioneers won the battle of second-chance points by a 19 to 7 output.

The Pioneers are back in action at home on Saturday, January 25 to host the Anderson University Ravens in the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Transylvania won the first meeting in Anderson, Indiana on December 7 by an 85-80 measure. Tip-off for this Saturday's contest is 5:00 p.m. from the Beck Center in the second game of a women's-men's HCAC doubleheader.

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