SHREVEPORT, La. – The Tougaloo College Bulldogs entered The Dock Thursday night with first place in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference on their minds, and they walked out of the LSUS gymnasium in a tie for first place after upsetting the No. 23 LSUS Pilots, 96-91, on their home floor.

Tougaloo led from start-to-finish, as the Pilots only managed to tie the game once at 16 early in the first half.  The Bulldogs led by as many as 13 with eight minutes remaining in the contest before the Pilots made a late push.  Senior Tyrone Hamilton missed short on a potential game-tying three pointer with 20 seconds left, and the Bulldogs closed out the game with two made free throws.

Tougaloo finished the game shooting 19-for-22 from the free-throw line, while also connecting on almost half of their three-point attempts (9-for-19).

The difference in the ballgame, however, was Tougaloo’s ability to get easy baskets off of dribble penetration.  As a result, the Bulldogs shot 58% from the field and scored a season-high 96 points.

Jermaine Hodges led a slew of Bulldogs in double figures with 25 points, including going 10-for-11 from the free-throw line. 

Junior Mike Pilgrim played his best game in a Pilots uniform, finishing with a game-high 29 points and 12 rebounds.  Hamilton added 21 and Chris Gatlin scored 15 in the loss.

LSUS (14-8, 7-3) will travel to New Orleans to take on Xavier on Saturday night.  The Pilots are currently tied for first place with Loyola and Tougaloo, while Xavier is one game behind at 6-4.