Spartanburg, SC - The Southern Wesleyan University Warriors were defeated by the University of South Carolina-Upstate Spartans in an Exhibition Game for the Warriors on Tuesday Evening.
The Warriors were led in scoring by
Reco Hallmon with 16, followed by
Aaron Tims with 9, and
Raheem Brizendine and
RJ Bell with 8. Hallmon also had a team-high 9 rebounds while
Che Smith was tops in assists with 2. As a team, the Warriors shot 22-60 (36.7%) from the field, 3-19 (15.8%) from three, and 16-30 (53.3%) from the free-throw line.
Game Vitals:
Final: Southern Wesleyan University 63, University of South Carolina-Upstate 95
Records: Southern Wesleyan University (1-3), University of South Carolina-Upstate (2-4)
How It Happened:
The first five on the floor for the Warriors on Tuesday Night were
Che Smith,
RJ Bell,
Eric Hackett,
Reco Hallmon, and
Aaron Tims. Bell opened the scoring for SWU with a transition layup after jumping a passing lane on the Spartans' first possession of the game. Three minutes later, after both teams traded buckets for a period, Bell again forced a turnover leading to a fast-break bucket as the Warriors grabbed a 10-9 lead. The second layup was part of a 10-0 SWU run which was capped by a mid-range jump shot from Smith at the fourteen-minute mark. The Warriors played extremely well in the first half, fighting off mini-runs from the Spartans and pushing the lead back up to six on multiple occasions while getting buckets from Hackett,
Raheem Brizendine, and
Christopher Osobaye. However, USC-Upstate began to find an offensive rhythm in the final five minutes of the first half, going on a 17-8 run including a three-pointer on the final possession of the period.
USC-Upstate continued their hot shooting to open the second half, getting the first six points of the half to increase their lead to ten at the eighteen-minute mark. Tims ended the Spartan run with a jump shot followed by a trip to the free-throw line on the next possession. Missed shots from the charity stripe and behind the arc were the story of the night for SWU, as they shot just 15% from three and 53% from the free throw line - both of which are season lows. After Hallmon connected from the mid-range at the 12:45 mark, the Warriors went over six minutes scoreless as USC-Upstate went on a 19-0 run to increase their lead to over 30. Brizendine would score buckets on back-to-back possessions and score the next 8 points for the Warriors to help trim the lead down. However, the Warriors couldn't mount a heroic comeback and dropped Tuesday Night's exhibition game.
What's Next:
The Warriors host Morris College on Wednesday, November 20th at 7:00 PM. After that, they open conference play with trips to Barton College on Saturday, November 23rd, and Belmont Abbey on Saturday, November 30th.
