Anderson, SC - The Southern Wesleyan Men's Basketball Team opened their 2023-24 season today by taking part in the Southeast Region Challenge. The Warriors were defeated by the Coker Cobras 107-102.
SWU was led in scoring by Raevon Allen with 21, Jamal Edmonson with 18, and Aaron Tims with 17. Those three were a massive boost off the bench for the Warriors today; a bench that scored 68 points. Marcus Long led Warrior Starters with 15 points on 6-7 FG. Southern Wesleyan fought back from a 19-point deficit midway through the second half, but their efforts fell just short down the stretch.
Game Vitals:
Final: Southern Wesleyan 102, Coker 107
Records: Southern Wesleyan (0-1), Coker (1-0)
How It Happened:
The Warriors opened the season with a starting lineup of Che Smith, Marcus Long, Griffin Effenberger, Reco Hallmon, and Dyren Brown. Hallmon started the scoring for SWU by going 1 of 2 from the line a minute into the game. Their first field goal of the game was an emphatic one - a posterizing slam following a full-court inbound pass from Hallmon. Long also hit a three which sparked a quick 7-0 Warrior run going into the under sixteen media timeout. Coker pressed Southern Wesleyan on all made baskets in the first half. While it did lead to some turnovers, the Warriors did a great job of scoring when they did beat the press. Aaron Tims and Jamal Edmondson were beneficiaries of that, and they each had double-digit points in the half. Foul trouble was an issue for SWU in the first half. Brown and Hallmon each had to miss an extended amount of time in the period after they picked up their 3rd personal fouls. Coker took advantage of that closer to the break, and took a 54-53 lead into the locker room.
The Warriors had a very rough start to the second half. They were held scoreless from the 17:29 minute mark until the 12:36 minute mark and without a field goal from the 17:54 minute mark until the 11:58 minute mark. The Cobra lead grew to as many as 19 in the stretch. But Southern Wesleyan did well to stay in the game for the rest of the night. Raevon Allen was huge for the Warriors to help them do just that. He had 18 second-period points and finished with a team-high 21 points and 2 steals. Their late-game execution was really good, but there was just not enough time to complete the comeback. Free throws will be a stat that keeps Coach Brian Hewitt up at night, as the Warriors went a whopping 23-46 from the line in the game.
What's Next:
The Warriors will take on Flagler at 2:00 tomorrow in their second and final game of the Southeast Region Crossover.
