Belmont, NC - The Southern Wesleyan University Warriors were victorious over the Belmont Abbey College Crusaders to collect their first Conference Carolinas win of the 2024-25 season. 

The Warriors were led in both scoring and rebounding by Christopher Osobaye, who posted a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double. RJ Bell, Aaron Tims, Reco Hallmon, and Eric Hackett were the other four in double digits. As a team, SWU shot 23-59 (39.0%) from the field, 6-16 (37.5%) from three, and 24-36 (66.7%) from the free-throw line. 



Game Vitals: 

Final: Southern Wesleyan University 76, Belmont Abbey College 68

Records: Southern Wesleyan University (2-4), Belmont Abbey College (0-2) 



How It Happened:

The first five on the floor on Saturday Afternoon were Che Smith, RJ Bell, Raheem Brizendine, Christopher Osobaye, and Aaron Tims. Smith forced a turnover on the opening possession of the game, then Osobaye converted in the paint to get the scoring started on the second. After Osobaye scored again at the 16:30 mark, the two teams went scoreless for the next 2:00 until Smith went 1-2 on a trip to the free-throw line. Near the end of the half, a Bobby Taylor layup triggered a 7-0 run to push the Southern Wesleyan lead to thirteen. After Brizendine's drive and finish with just over 0:30 to go, the lead looked to stand in double-digits at halftime but the Crusaders hit a three in the final second of the period to make the score 35-27 at the break. 

On the first possession of the second half, Bell had a nice pull-up jump shot from the mid-range to increase the lead back to ten. Belmont-Abbey gained some momentum early in the second period after a run of their own and took the lead at the 15:00 mark, but Eric Hackett earned a trip to the free-throw line where he re-established the Warriors lead. The two teams traded buckets throughout the second half but down the stretch, the Warriors found the key moments when it mattered. One such moment came at the 3:45 mark when Bell found Reco Hallmon on the wing for an open three. Hallmon's shooting was extremely important to the Warrior win today, as he converted 3 of his 6 attempts from behind the arc leading the Warriors to one of their best shooting performances of the young season. In the final minute, Southern Wesleyan got clutch free throws from Tims, Bell, and Hackett to help seal the 76-68 win. 



What's Next: 

The Warriors have only three remaining games in the calendar year starting with a trip to GCSU on Wednesday, December 4th at 7:00. After that, they host Lees-McRae on Saturday, December 7th, and face Shorter in Rome, GA on Saturday, December 14th.