Central, S.C. – The Warriors fell to the Barton College Bulldogs in Conference Carolinas competition on Saturday evening in a final score of 88-69.

Justice McCullough led the Warriors with 28 points in the loss.  He was followed by Darius Sharpe with 17 points.  Southern Wesleyan posted a 41.1 field goal percentage and went 19-31 at the free throw line.  Darrian Brown led the team in assists with four of the 13 made by the Warriors.  Brown was followed by Kevin Stamps with three.

Southern Wesleyan posted 45 rebounds in the loss to the Bulldogs.  Justice McCullough led the Warriors with 17.  He was followed by Jeremy Wert with five, and De'Quan Weldon and Kevin Stamps with four rebounds apiece.  Stamps led the team with three blocks in the loss.  Four Warriors posted a steal in the game versus the Bulldogs.

Game Vitals

Final: Barton 88, Southern Wesleyan 69

Record: Southern Wesleyan (3-18 / CC 2-11), Barton (15-5 / CC 10-2)

Coach Wimphrie Says…

"We didn't play a complete game tonight.  Barton is a very good team in the top half of the conference.  They are physical and have a strong inside presence to go along with talented guards on the perimeter.  We had better energy but not enough to overcome their physically.  We are still within reach of our main goal this year and that is to finish in the top 8 of the conference."

How It Happened

The Bulldogs struck first in the late afternoon debate on Saturday on a layup by Daniel Westbrook.  Kevin Stamps countered for the Warriors with a jump shot to tie the game at two.  Barton would not let the Warriors get away with much as they countered each of their shots, however a layup by Darius Sharpe allowed the Warriors to tie the game at 11.  The Bulldogs regained the lead on a dunk and 3-point shot by Daniel Westbrook.  Southern Wesleyan tied the game on freebies by De'Quan Weldon.  The Bulldogs and Warriors exchanged shots, but the Bulldogs managed to maintain a three point lead over Southern Wesleyan.  Darius Sharpe scored a three point jump shot to take a 32-30 lead over the Bulldogs.  However, Barton made layups by Miguel Brown and Dante Artis to take a 36-33 lead over the Warriors and by the half the Bulldogs were up 41-36.

Barton struck first in the second half, scoring back-to-back layups by Matt Woods and Miguel Brown to bring them to a 45-36 lead over the Warriors.  Justice McCullough was the first to score for the Warriors in the second half making a layup to bring the score to 45-38 Bulldog lead.  Barton pulled to a 10-point lead on freebies by RJ Claypool, and then the Bulldogs lengthened their lead to 56-41 on a 3-point jump shot by Michael Boykin.  Southern Wesleyan was not able to regain control as the Bulldogs won the game 88-69.

What's Next

The Warriors will travel to North Greenville to take on the Crusaders at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 1.  They will then travel on to take on the Lees-McRae Bobcats at 4 p.m. on February 4.