Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan dropped their home and season opener to the Belmont Abbey Crusaders on Tuesday in an 80-69 final score.
The Warriors shot 41.8%from the field and went 34.3% from beyond the three point line in the loss.
Hunter Davis led the Warriors with 22 points. Davis was followed by
Edwon Brady with 18 points and
Ta'Jay Dunlap with 17 points. The Warriors recorded 11 assists in the first game of the season with
Brendan Hoban leading the team with four. Hoban was followed with
Jacob Smith with three. Southern Wesleyan recorded six steals during the game. Davis recorded 13 rebounds to give him his first double-double game of the season.
Game Vitals
Final: Belmont Abbey 80, Southern Wesleyan 69
Records: Southern Wesleyan (0-1 / CC 0-1) Belmont Abbey (5-1 / CC 3-0)
How It Happened
Belmont Abbey charged out of the gates, scoring 15 straight points before a three point shot by
Jacob Smith put the Warriors on the board. The Warriors continued to cut away the Crusaders lead as
Hunter Davis sunk Southern Wesleyan's second three point shot of the evening. The Crusaders would not be discouraged, continuing to attack the net to extend their lead. However, the Warriors maintained the pressure as Davis dunked the ball into the net to get back to within 15-points of Belmont Abbey. Southern Wesleyan continued to chip away with 3-point baskets by
Ta'Jay Dunlap and
Edwon Brady to put the Warriors down 22-28. Despite a last second layup by Davis, the Crusaders maintained a fourteen point advantage over the Warriors at the half with a 46-32 point lead.
The Crusaders struck first in the second half of the game as Sean Halloran made a layup in the paint. Southern Wesleyan countered with a layup in the paint by Davis. A three point shot by
Brendan Hoban allowed the Warriors to cut the Crusaders lead down to 48-37. Free throw baskets by Davis and Dunlap allowed the Warriors to come within ten points before a layup by Charles Solomon in the paint put the Crusaders back ahead by 12 points. Southern Wesleyan would not let up as Dunlap and Davis made several more lay-ups and Brady sunk another three point shot to cut the Belmont Abbey lead down to 54-51. However Quest Aldridge and Sean Halloran made back-to-back shots for the Crusaders to put them back ahead by seven. The Warriors continued to challenge the Crusaders every attack, but Belmont Abbey won the game 80-69.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will next travel to Bristol, TN on January 22 and 23 to take on the King Tornado. They will play the Tornado at 7 p.m. on Friday before taking them on at 4 p.m on Saturday. The Warriors will then travel to Belmont, NC to take on the Belmont Abbey Crusaders once again.
