Box Score Due West, S.C. – Southern Wesleyan fell to Erskine College in a close game on Wednesday night that ended in a final score of 64-63.
Four Warriors posted double figures in the loss. Kevin Stamps led the Warriors in scoring with 16 points. He was followed by De'Quan Weldon (15), Justice McCullough (12) and Darius Sharpe (11). Southern Wesleyan posted a field goal percentage of 42.4% while Erskine boasted one of 37.3%. There were 11 assists made by Southern Wesleyan. McCullough and Darrian Brown had three assists apiece in the evening's game.
Justice McCullough posted 16 rebounds. He was followed by De'Quan Weldon with nine rebounds. The Warriors made 44 rebounds as a team in the loss compared to the 36 rebounds made by Mount Olive. Kevin Stamps, Zalan Richards and McCullough each had a block during the game.
Two Warriors posted a steal and the Warriors had 11 turnovers in the contest.
Game Vitals
Final: Erskine 64, Southern Wesleyan 63
Records: Southern Wesleyan (2-13 / CC 1-6), Erskine (6-8 / CC 2-5)
Coach Wimphrie Says…
"We played a complete game tonight. We didn't force the ball and we were patient on offense and limited our mistakes and the game came down to one play. Hopefully, this will carry over to the next game and I'm proud of our team's effort altogether."
How It Happened
The Flying Fleet struck first in the debate on Wednesday night on a jump shot by Zezmon Steeple to give the Fleet a 2-0 lead over the Warriors. Justice McCullough tipped in a shot to put the Warriors on the board 4-2 behind the Flying Fleet, and a jump shot by Kevin Stamps allowed the Warriors to tie the Fleet at four. The Flying Fleet regained the lead on a jump shot by Joby Glymph and lengthened their lead to 9-4 on a three point shot by Brannon Dark. De'quan Weldon made a 3-point jump shot to make the score 17-15 Fleet lead. The Flying Fleet lengthened their lead to five on a three point jump shot by Nelson Spence, but Weldon scored a jump shot for the Warriors to bring them back to within a point behind the Flying Fleet with a score of 20-19. Southern Wesleyan was able to pull ahead on a layup by Kevin Stamps. On a three point shot by senior Darius Sharpe, the Warriors took a 26-22 lead over the Erskine College Flying Fleet. Despite the Flying Fleet tying the game at 26, the Warriors rallied to regain the lead on jump shots by Darrian Brown and Weldon to allow the score to come to 30-26.
The Erskine College Flying Fleet scored first after returning from halftime to bring them within one point of the Warriors and making the score 34-33. Justin Shelton made a three point jump shot for the Fleet to give them a 36-34 lead over the Warriors, however their lead was short lived as Warrior Justice McCullough made a layup to tie the game at 36. De'Quan Weldon made a jump shot to bring the Warriors to a 46-45 lead. Erskine College would not go down quietly, tying the match at 47 on freebies by Joby Glymph before taking a 53-47 point lead on a 3-point jump shot by Nelson Spence. Southern Wesleyan countered with a three point jump shot by Weldon to bring them to 54-50 behind the Fleet. With six minutes left of action, the Warriors tied the Flying Fleet at 56 on a jump shot by McCullough and then pulled ahead to take a 58-57 lead on a jump shot by Darius Sharpe. Despite their rally, the Warriors were not able to hold the lead as the Flying Fleet took the game 64-63.
What's Next
The Warriors will return to Historic Tysinger Gymnasium to take on the Belmont Abbey Crusaders at 4 p.m on January 14th. They will travel to King University on Monday, January 16th to take on the Tornado at 7:30 p.m. Southern Wesleyan will then return home to have four consecutive home matches to end the month.
