Due West, SC - The Southern Wesleyan University Warriors lost to the Erskine College Flying Fleet in a Conference Carolinas Southwest Division encounter on Wednesday. 

The Warriors were led in scoring by Aaron Tims and RJ Bell with 17 points each, while Christopher Osobaye was also in double-digits with 11. Tims led the team with 10 rebounds as well, and Che Smith had a team-high 4 assists. As a team, SWU shot 21-56 (37.5%) from the field, 2-20 (10.0%) from three, and 28-44 (63.6%) from the free-throw line. 



Game Vitals:

Final: Southern Wesleyan University 72, Erskine College 77

Records: Southern Wesleyan University (4-10, 2-6), Erskine College (6-10, 3-6)



How It Happened: 

Southern Wesleyan opened up with the same lineup that started the loss to North Greenville on Monday: Che Smith, RJ Bell, Christopher Osobaye, Aaron Tims, and Jamarras McCray. Bell forced an Erskine turnover on the first possession of the game which led to a transition score from McCray to open the scoring. They looked to establish Tims in the paint early, as he connected on two close-range field goals and a pair of free-throws in the first 5:00. The Warriors retook the lead at the 12:30 mark after he scored six straight points. Tims scored again in the painted area a few possessions later to increase the lead to five. Reco Hallmon and Eric Hackett each hit a three off the bench in back-to-back possessions on each side of the under 8:00 media timeout. However, SWU struggled from the perimeter for the remainder of the game and would not connect on another three, finishing at 2-20 (10.0%) from behind the arc. Bell cut the Flying Fleet lead to six in the final minute of the half after a 1-2 trip to the charity stripe. 

The Warriors opened the second half with a three-point play from Osobaye, and McCray and Smith each scored to make it a 6-2 start to the final period. Osobaye continued his physical play and displayed his knack for getting to the free-throw line, which has been a successful form of offense for the team, over the first handful of minutes and hit three free-throws with a Bell jump shot to help SWU retake a lead at the 13:35 mark. The two teams exchanged buckets for most of the second half, but Erskine took a key four-point lead with just under 6:00 to play after a transition three. The Warriors cut it back to a single-possession game several times including a layup from Smith inside the final minute, but the Flying Fleet continued to match their scores and got a crucial stop on the final possession of the game to pull out the win. 



What's Next:

Next up for the Warriors is a trip to the University of Mount Olive on Saturday, January 18th for the final game of this three-game road trip. After that, they play three in a row at home: Monday, January 20th, vs Belmont Abbey, Wednesday, January 22nd, vs Young Harris, and Saturday, January 25th, vs Barton.