Anderson, SC - The Southern Wesleyan University Warriors picked up their first win of the 2023-24 Season on Wednesday night in a hostile environment vs the Anderson University Trojans.  

Eric Hackett and Marcus Long were tied for the team led with 18 points in the win. Both players scored all 18 of their points in a single half: Hackett in the first and Long in the second. Dyren Brown was the third Warrior in double digits, and he added a team-high seven rebounds as well. All five starters recorded at least one steal, and four of the five recorded a block. As a team, the Warriors shot 22-50 (44%) from the field, 12-22 (54.5%) from behind the arc, and 19-28 (67.9%) from the free throw line. 



Game Vitals:

Final: Southern Wesleyan University 75, Anderson University 72

Records: Southern Wesleyan University (1-7), Anderson University (4-4)





Coach Hewitt says...

"Great win for our guys tonight.  They played their tails off and earned this win.  We have been on the wrong end of some really close battles so far this season, but the fight and perseverance of our team came through in a big way tonight.  Anderson is a great team and they played a great game.  Hopefully this can propel us going forward as something to really build off of.  Proud of these guys, and proud to be a Warrior."





How It Happened:

The starting lineup was again edited by Head Coach Brian Hewitt going into tonight's contest, as the Warriors opened with Che Smith, Raevon Allen, Griffin Effenberger, Dyren Brown, and Aaron Tims. Effenberger opened the scoring with a 3-pointer on the Warriors' opening possession. He scored the first five SWU points, but once they got there, the Warrior offense stalled. They went 5 1/2 minutes between Effenberger's mid-range jump shot and an Eric Hackett transition layup following a Reco Hallmon steal. Southern Wesleyan did a great job of keeping the Trojans - who have a terrific offense that can get hot at any moment - close for the entirety of the first half. Freshman Eric Hackett was a major part of that. He scored 18 first-half points in 13 minutes on 7-11 shooting and zero turnovers. Nine of those points came in a 2-minute stretch between the 6:00 and 4:00 marks that cut the Anderson lead to two. The Trojans had a good stretch off offense to end the half, but again the Warriors wouldn't go away. Che Smith's heave at the buzzer was no good, sending SWU to the locker room trailing by just five. 

The Warriors struggled to open the second half. They went the first 3:57 without a bucket before Marcus Long found Dyren Brown for a three to make it a 50-39 game at the under 16 media timeout. Long was huge for Southern Wesleyan in the half. After Dyren Brown scored the first six points of the period, Long scored the next seven as the Warriors continued to hang close, waiting for a moment to make the all-important run. That run would come when the Warriors went on a 7-0 run from the 3:40 mark to the 1:41 mark consisting of three Dyren Brown free throws, two Marcus Long free throws, and a Marcus Long layup that gave SWU the lead. Long would also make two free throws with six seconds left to extend the Warrior lead to three. Alongside the play of Long, the Warrior defense was a major reason why they pulled out the victory. They held the Trojans scoreless for the last 4:32 of the game and contained them to just 39% shooting from the field and 27% shooting from behind the arc in the second half.





What's Next:

The Warriors return to Conference play with a trip to Young Harris on Saturday, December 9th, followed by a neutral site contest with Emory & Henry at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina on Monday, December 11th.