Charlotte, NC - The Southern Wesleyan University Warriors were defeated by the Emory & Henry College Wasps on Monday afternoon at the Spectrum Center, the home of the Charlotte Hornets. 

Griffin Effenberger and Jamal Edmonson led the team with 11 points, followed by Dyren Brown with nine. Che Smith led the Warriors in rebounds (7) and steals (3), and Effenberger also led in assists (4). As a team, the Warriors shot 21-54 (38.9%) from the field, 5-18 (27.8%) from behind the arc, and 6-11 (54.5%) from the free throw line. 



Game Vitals:

Final: Southern Wesleyan University 53, Emory & Henry College 73

Records: Southern Wesleyan University (1-9, 0-2), Emory & Henry College (3-6, 0-2)



How It Happened: 

Coach Brian Hewitt opted to insert freshman Chad Clark into the starting lineup for the first time in his young career. Che Smith, Griffin Effenberger, Reco Hallmon, and Aaron Tims joined Clark in the Warrior starting lineup. Smith forced a turnover on the first possession of the game, and Tims capitalized with a left-handed hook shot to open the scoring. Aaron Tims scored four of the first six Warrior points. Southern Wesleyan had what would be their largest lead of the game at the 15:00 mark following Smith's transition layup and Effenberger's pull-up three to make it 11-7. Effenberger hit another three a little over three minutes later, and a long Warrior scoring drought would follow. Emory & Henry went on a 19-0 run over the next 6:41, extending their lead to 22 with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. Eric Hackett checked into the game following a timeout by Coach Hewitt, and immediately scored six points. The Warriors wouldn't score again until the final minute through a single Smith free throw and a Tims layup, sending them to the locker room trailing 43-22. In the half, the Warriors had scoring droughts of 6:41, 3:39, and 3:28 totaling just over 13 1/2 scoreless minutes.

Jamal Edmonson added a nice boost for the Warriors to start the second half. He scored the first four points triggering a quick 9-0 Southern Wesleyan run cutting the Wasp lead to 14. Another key factor in the great start to the half from the Warriors is their defensive pressure. Che Smith and Raevon Allen were the keys to that, forcing several turnovers over that stretch. The second half was very balanced between the two teams and the Emory & Henry lead was still just 16 halfway through the period. Edmonson, Effenberger, and Dyren Brown combined for 26 of the 31 Warrior points in the second half, including 18 in a row over a 10-minute stretch. They finished as the Warriors' three leading scorers and shot a combined 13-20 (65%) from the field and 4-6 (67%) from behind the arc. 



What's Next:

The Warriors have a mini home stretch coming up as they host Chowan on Saturday, December 16th, and Limestone on Tuesday, December 19th, before they go to Wofford on Friday, December 29th.