SE Tennessee News

The men's basketball team went on the road for the final time in regular season play. The team, entering the game with sole possession of second place in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) standings, has qualified for the conference tournament, and Tuesday's game against the Point University Skyhawks would continue to determine the standings.

Back-to-back baskets by Peyton West gave TWU a 4-3 lead early in the game. Kobe Pride moved the score to 6-5 with his layup a few minutes later. The game got bleak for the Bulldogs as Point scored the next nine points to move ahead 14-6. Jonathan Webb broke the scoreless streak and a Darius Rozier layup cut the deficit to four points with under ten minutes remaining in the first half. Elisha Mayberry's three-pointer moved the score to 18-15 but Tennessee Wesleyan could not move ahead as the Skyhawks scored consecutive baskets to lead 23-15. Ray Tyler scored consecutive baskets for the Bulldogs but Point took a 31-24 lead into the halftime break.

The teams exchanged points back and forth over the first several minutes of the second half. Facing an 11-point deficit with 16:10 in the game, TWU turned the score in their favor by the 13:52 mark. Points from Pride, West, Kariden Hardrick, and Tyler amounted to a 12-0 run to give the Bulldogs a 42-41 advantage. Over the next minute, the lead changed seven times, with Point forcing the final lead change of the span. With 9:47 remaining, back-to-back three-pointers by Mayberry pushed Tennessee Wesleyan ahead 54-52. The lead did not last though as the Skyhawks scored eight straight points to move ahead 60-54. Tyler scored five straight points to pull the Bulldogs within one point and a layup by Pride brought the team within one point again with 56 seconds left. TWU could not take the lead, falling by a final score of 67-63.

Tyler led the team with 17 points and Pride aided with 16 points.  Mayberry led with eight rebounds.

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