Central, SC - The Southern Wesleyan University Warriors lost to the Young Harris College Mountain Lions on Wednesday. 

RJ Bell led the team in scoring with 18 points while also adding a season-high 5 steals. Jamarras McCray added 6 rebounds and 3 blocks, and Reco Hallmon had 3 assists - each coming off the bench. As a team, SWU shot 21-55 (38.2%) from the field, 6-18 (33.3%) from three, and 19-23 (82.6%) from the free-throw line. 


Game Vitals:

Final: Southern Wesleyan University 67, Young Harris College 78

Records: Southern Wesleyan University (5-12, 3-18), Young Harris College (12-5, 7-2)


How It Happened:

Southern Wesleyan opened up with their fourth different starting lineup in as many games: Che Smith, RJ Bell, Marcus Long, Christopher Osobaye, and Aaron Tims. The Mountain Lions began the game with made threes on each of their first two possessions before the Warriors cracked their egg with a pair of free throws from Osobaye. After a transition dunk from Bell at the 17:31 mark, Young Harris went on a 10-2 run with the only bucket coming from Long. SWU's leading scorer Eric Hackett began to find his shooting rhythm over the next few minutes and it helped spark a 7-0 run capped by a Tims score in the paint with 6:41 to play in the period. Five free throws in the last two minutes helped them continue to trim the lead down, but Young Harris responded with a couple of trips to the stripe of their own to make it a 41-34 game at the break. 

Osobaye also had the first score of the second half with a nice finish at the rim. The lead stayed in single digits for the first 10+ minutes of the period as the Warriors continued to get key scoring from Bell and Osobaye. However, after Bell scored a layup with 9:19 to play, the Mountain Lions put together a 6-0 run while holding the Warriors without a field goal for 7:24 with the only points coming from Hackett and Osobaye at the free-throw line. Hackett and Bell each knocked down threes in the final minute of the game, but it wasn't enough as Southern Wesleyan dropped to 1-3 in Southwest Division play. 


What's Next: 

The Warriors have one game remaining on their three-game home stand remaining. They face the Barton College Bulldogs on Saturday, January 25th before traveling to Franklin Springs, Georgia for a matchup with Emmanuel on Tuesday, January 28th.