Central, SC – The Warriors took down the Lees-McRae Bobcats at home on Wednesday evening in an 89-87 final score.

Southern Wesleyan shot 55.6% from the field and went 40.9% from beyond the arc on Wednesday.  Jamal Edmonson led the team with 28 points.  He was closely followed by Dyren Brown with 25 points.  Griffin Effenberger and Bryson Felder also recorded double digits in scoring.  Effenberger posted 13 points while Felder posted 12.  The Warriors totaled 24 assists.  Both Effenberger and Raevon Allen led the team with five assits.  They were followed by Edmonson and Brown with four.

The Warriors pulled down 35 rebounds.  Dyren Brown led the team with 16 rebounds to give him a double-double game.  Jamal Edmonson led the team with three of the five blocks the Warriors recorded.  Southern Wesleyan stole the ball eight times with Edmonson leading the team with three.  Both Raevon Allen and Marcus Long followed with two steals.
 
 


 
Game Vitals

Final: Southern Wesleyan 89, Lees-McRae 87

Records: Southern Wesleyan (5-21 / CC 5-13) Lees-McRae (11-15 /CC 7-11)
 




Coach Hewitt says...

"Great team win tonight.  Wasn't always pretty, but we hung tough and stayed together and positive.  A lot of teams would have folded and started pointing fingers, but we stayed together as a team.  Give Coach Hardin a lot of credit, they made some great adjustments and made it really difficult down the stretch, but we did just enough.  And our students were amazing tonight in the student section.  Made it really loud and shows why it's tough to win here and gives us a great home court advantage.  Couldn't be more proud of our team and our university in tonight's big win.  Hopefully we will come out with the same energy Saturday against a great Barton team." 



 
How It Happened

The Bobcats took the first points of the game on a layup by Williams Onyeodi.  However, Dyren Brown collected a pass from Raevon Allen and stepped beyond the arc to put up his first three point shot of the night and give the Warriors the lead.  A layup by Brandon Brown put Lees-McRae back ahead.  The Warriors began to distance themselves from the Bobcats as Bryson Felder stepped beyond the arc and hit a three point shot.  Jaylin Stewart laid the ball up into the basket.  Back-to-back layups by Jamal Edmonson allowed the Warriors to extend their lead to six points.  A fast break three point shot out of the hands of Brandon Brown allowed the Bobcats to come to one point behind the Warriors.  It was short lived as Griffin Effenberger stepped beyond the arc and sunk a three pointer with just under nine minutes left in the half.  Jeremy Golson hit a three pointer of his own seconds later, and then a layup by Timon Jones allowed Lees-McRae to tie the game back up.  The Bobcats took the lead on a layup by Jaylin Stewart.  However, layups by Marcus Long and Dyren Brown allowed the Warriors to stay within two points of the visiting Bobcats.  Jamal Edmonson stole the ball and laid it up to tie the game up at thirty-eight points apiece.  Sam Limehouse passed the ball under the net to Dyren Brown who went up for a layup to allow Southern Wesleyan to regain their two point lead.  Southern Wesleyan led 44-41 at halftime.

The Warriors kicked off the second half with a layup by Bryson Felder.  However, a jump shot by Williams Onyeodi allowed Lees-McRae to stay within three points.  Jamal Edmonson laid the ball up into the basket on back-to-back plays to push the Warriors ahead by six.  With just over seventeen minutes on the clock, Dyren Brown put up a layup.  Edmonson stepped beyond the arc and hit a three pointer.  A layup by Drew Gardner kept the Bobcats within nine points of the Warriors.  Lees-McRae continued to challenge the Warriors offensive attacks, but a jump shot by Griffin Effenberger in the paint allowed Southern Wesleyan to maintain their twelve point lead.  Brown and Effenberger each hit three point shots.  The Warriors pushed on with their attacks as Marcus Long stole the ball and laid it up to give the Warriors a twenty point lead with just under nine minutes left in the half.  Lees-McRae was not discouraged as Nico Ashley laid the ball up into the basket.  Layups by Sidney Dollar and Ashley allowed the Bobcats to cut into the Warriors lead.  With just under four minutes on the clock, Jamal Edmonson laid the ball up for the Warriors.  The Bobcats were not done as a layup by Timon Jones allowed them to tie the game up.  However, the Warriors pressed on to win the game in an 89-87 final score.
 


 
 
What's Next

Southern Wesleyan will remain at home on February 18 as they host the Barton Bulldogs at 4 p.m.  They will wrap up the regular season on the road as they travel to Bristol, TN to take on the Tornado of King University.