The men's basketball team played their first game of the 2022-23 regular season on Friday. The team hosted the College of Coastal College Mariners in a non-conference game.
Through the first four minutes of play, the game was close. Scores from Elisha Mayberry and Peyton West made the score 8-6 in favor of the opponents. A three-point play by West at the 15:54 mark started a scoring rally for the Bulldogs. Along with West's score, points from Jonathan Webb, Kobe Pride, Ray Tyler, and Ty Patterson helped TWU outscore the opponents 19-5, giving the team a 25-13 advantage with eight minutes left in the first half. Coastal Georgia rallied back to take the lead, but Webb knocked down three consecutive free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt to give the Bulldogs a 32-30 lead. The lead changed four times over the remaining 57 seconds of the first half, with Pride and Patterson helping the team take a 37-35 lead into the halftime break.
West scored the first basket of the second half. After a pair of free throws by the Mariners cut the lead to two points, Tennessee Wesleyan rattled off 11 consecutive points to move ahead 50-37. Patterson, Webb, Pride, West, and Mayberry all scored in the team's 11-0 run. The double-digit lead was maintained for the Bulldogs as a Tyler layup made the score 60-43 with 12 minutes remaining in the game. Points from Zhaelin Callahan and Cameron Montgomery helped the team take the largest lead of the game of 25 points with the scoreboard reading 82-57. Matthew Kile and Kolbe Billingsley added points which TWU went on to win 87-72.
Six players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs, led by Tyler's and West's 14 points each. Patterson (13), Mayberry (12), Pride (11), and Webb (11) were also in double figures.
Tennessee Wesleyan (1-0) returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 5. The team will play their first road game of the season and their first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) game against Kentucky Christian University. Tip is set for 2:00 p.m.
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