Darius Sharpe contributes with 24 points in the loss against the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers in the first game the Warriors played in the Wesleyan Way Invitational Tournament.  He is followed DJ Dobson with 12 points.

The Panthers struck first in the second game of the Wesleyan Way Invitational Tournament on Friday evening taking a 2-0 lead over the Warriors on a jump shot by Charles Foster.  Their lead lengthened to 15-0 after four and a half minutes of play.  Darius Sharpe sunk a three point jump shot to put the Warriors on the board 15-3.  Despite the three point shot by Sharpe, the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers surged ahead, putting seven more points on the board including a dunk by Jordan Jacks to bring the score to 22-6.  Darius Sharpe made another three point shot to bring the Warriors to 9-30 with less than ten minutes to go in the first half of play.  A three point shot by Daryl Myers and dunk by Zalan Richards brought the score to 44-18.  Despite several late points in the first half, the Warriors were down 57-21 at half time.

The Warriors came back with a strong start in the second half with back-to-back layups b DJ Dobson.  Darius Sharpe made a three point jump shot to bring the Warriors to 63-31 behind the Panthers.  Sharpe continued with a dunk at the 14:34 minute mark to make the score 70-37 and cute the Panther lead in half.  Jeremy Wert and Justice McCullough each got two to allow the Warriors to shorten the lead held by Kentucky Wesleyan, however layups by Shaakir Lindsey and Ken-Jah Bosley allowed the Panthers to regain the depth.  DJ Dobson made a layup and JT Noellert made a jump shot after the Panthers passed the 100 mark on the board to make the score 105-54.  The Panthers took the game 112-55.

"We are having a difficult time making shots," said Head Men's Basketball Coach Charles Wimphrie after the loss.  He continued, "We are playing many inexperienced players right now.  Our lone senior Darius Sharpe is doing an excellent job with his role.  He needs my younger freshmen and sophomores to step in and contribute.  We are being very patient but the learning curb is coming along slower than we anticipated.  Hopefully the valuable experience they are gaining on the floor will soon show as the season continues."

DJ Dobson (7), Darius Sharpe (5) and Justice McCullough (5) led the team in rebounds with a combined 17 rebounds.  Dobson and JT Noellert tied with 1 block apiece, and Sharpe led the Warriors in steals in the loss with three.  Sharpe and Dobson each had two assists in the first game of the tournament.

The loss for the Southern Wesleyan Warriors makes their record now 2-8 and 1-2 in Conference Carolina action.  The Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers are now 8-2.  The Warriors will next compete tomorrow at 3 p.m. and will face the Benedict College Tigers.  This will be the last match-up for the Warriors in the Wesleyan Way Invitational Tournament.  The Warriors will take a Christmas season break before returning to Southern Wesleyan's Historic Tysinger Gymnasium on January 3 to take on the Lees-McRae Bobcats at 7:30 p.m in Conference Carolina action.