Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan fell to the Young Harris Mountain Lions in a 102-77 final score on Wednesday evening.
The Warriors shot 48.1% from the field and were 30.4% from beyond the arc. They went on to shoot 18 for 21 at the charity stripe. Four Warriors posted double digits in scoring during the game. Freshman Malachi Cooper led the team with 17 points. Behind him, Will Little had 16 points and Bobby Taylor collected 14 points. Josh Parker was the final Warrior in double digits as he had 12 points in the game. Southern Wesleyan accumulated 10 assists with both Cooper and Taylor having two.
Southern Wesleyan pulled down 28 rebounds during the contest. Both Jamarras McCray and Jaquay Randolph had six boards to their name. The Warriors blocked five attacks on the basket by the Mountain Lions. David Witcher led the team with two blocks. Kenyon Addie, Nathanael Lewis and Hudson Yarbrough each had solo blocks. Josh Parker had the lone steal of the game for Southern Wesleyan.
Game Vitals
Final: Young Harris 102, Southern Wesleyan 77
Records: Southern Wesleyan (1-5 / CC 0-2) Young Harris (4-3 / CC 2-1)
How It Happened
Young Harris struck first in the game as Justin Payne put up a three pointer off a pass from Carl Cleveland. The Warriors answered as Malachi Cooper laid the ball up on the left side of the basket. Cooper continued to attack as he drained a three pointer to put Southern Wesleyan on top 5-3. It was short lived as Cleveland laid the ball up into the basket. Jamarras McCray knocked down a three pointer. With just over sixteen minutes left in the first half, Cooper hit another three pointer to extend the Warriors lead to four points. Will Little laid the ball up into the basket and was fouled in the process to earn the and-one. Cameron Bleshoy fouled Malachi Cooper as he attempted a three point shot to send him to the charity stripe. Cooper hit all three of his free throws to extend the Warriors lead to ten. With just under fourteen minutes on the clock, Cooper passed the ball down the court to Will Little. Little slammed the ball into the basket in a statement dunk. Young Harris answered as Kelvin Hunter, Kade Harmon and Carl Cleveland each got up layups. A three pointer out of the hands of Justin Payne allow the Mountain Lions to cut the Warriors' lead down to two. With just under nine minutes on the clock, Cleveland hit a three pointer to give Young Harris the lead. Josh Parker hit a pull-up jump shot just shy of the arc to keep the Warriors within nine points of the Mountain Lions. With just under three on the clock, Jamarras McCray drove up under the basket to lay the ball up. However, Carl Cleveland hit a three pointer at the buzzer to allow the Mountain Lions to extend their lead to 46-34 going into the locker room.
Young Harris attacked early in the second half as Carl Cleveland put up a layup. Seconds later, Cleveland knocked down back-to-back three pointers to extend the Mountain Lions' lead to twenty. Bobby Taylor laid the ball up into the basket, but the Mountain Lions answered with a basket by Justin Payne. Will Little got the ball over to Malachi Cooper who hit a mid-range basket. Taylor challenged the Mountain Lions as he put up back-to-back baskets. Cameron Bleshoy laid the ball up into the basket, but the Warriors quickly answered as Will Little put up a mid-range shot. Josh Parker knocked down his first three pointer of the game, but the Mountain Lions continued the pressure from beyond the arc as Carl Cleveland hit yet another three pointer. Southern Wesleyan and Young Harris continued to exchange three point baskets as Justin Payne and Josh Parker each got up shots. Will Little and Josh Parker were able to get the ball into the basket. Parker stole the ball away with five minutes left on the clock and sent it down the court to Jamarras McCray. McCray slammed the ball into the basket for a dunk. RJ Williams knocked down a three pointer to extend the Mountain Lions lead to twenty four. With just over two minutes left in the half, Ashton Williams got the ball to Hudson Yarbrough who flicked it over to Kenyon Addie. Addie hit a three pointer, but the Mountain Lions fought back as Dylan Wolle drained a three pointer seconds later. Young Harris went on to win the game in a 102-77 final score.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will remain on the road on December 6 as they travel down to Spartanburg, SC to take on the Converse Valkyries. On December 8 and 9, the Warriors will take on Kennesaw State and The Citadel in exhibition action. They will then travel to Banner Elk, NC to take on the Lees-McRae Bobcats on December 13 at 4pm. The Warriors will return to Historic Tysinger Gymnasium on December 16 as they host the North Greenville Trailblazers.
