Turner leads third-ranked Bulldogs to 31st straight AAC win

ATHENS, Tenn. - Having not scored at the rate he'd grown accustomed to in his decorated Union career, Markelle Turner got back into rhythm on Thursday night and helped the third-ranked Bulldogs extend their conference win streak to 31 games.

Turner led all players with 25 points and Union built up a big lead before the Bulldogs held off late Tennessee Wesleyan rally, winning 78-67 in Appalachian Athletic Conference men's basketball play.

Turner, who had only topped 20 points once in his previous eight games, showed off the rapid-fire scoring prowess that's made him the AAC's top offensive weapon in recent years. He hit back-to-back 3s to spark an 11-2 run to put Union ahead 47-34 late in the first half, then hit another 2:49 into the second, which gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the night at 55-39.

Turner now just needs nine points to become the sixth 2,000-point scorer in Bulldog history.

Turner also pulled down seven rebounds, two behind team leader Markelo Sullivan. He had plenty of help offensively as fellow starters Terrin Hamilton (13), Sullivan (12) and Deonte Douglas (10) were also in double-figures, as Union closed out on a 6-0 run after TWU cut the deficit to 72-67 with just under three minutes to play.

The Bulldogs are now 24-1 overall and at 22-0 in the AAC, they are just two wins from completing a perfect conference season. Union will celebrate its senior day on Saturday when it hosts Columbia International at 4 p.m.