Bristol, TN - The Southern Wesleyan University Warriors were defeated by the King University Tornado on Saturday. 

Eric Hackett and Jamarras McCray led the Warriors in scoring, each putting up double-digits off the bench. Che Smith had a team-high 7 rebounds and Reco Hallmon had a team-high 4 assists. As a team, SWU shot 29-85 (34.1%) from the field, 9-32 (28.1%) from three, and 13-18 (72.2%) from the free-throw line. 


Game Vitals:

Final: Southern Wesleyan University 80, King University 89

Records: Southern Wesleyan University (8-15, 4-11), King University (13-10, 11-4)



How It Happened: 

The starting five for Saturday's matchup with the Tornado were Che Smith, RJ Bell, Reco Hallmon, CeeJay Jordan, and Christopher Osobaye. After Jordan missed a three on their opening possession, Osobaye scored on the next two to give SWU a 4-0 lead. They struggled to score over the ensuing possessions, going 4 1/2 minutes while scoring just one field goal from Jordan. The King lead grew to as big as seven during that stretch, but the Warriors quickly responded with paint scores from Jordan and Aaron Tims and a three from Hallmon to tie the game. Reco hit each of his two threes in the first half, but despite that and Southern Wesleyan's success in the paint, King took a 13-point lead into the locker room because of a late barrage of made threes. 

That lead was quickly trimmed down to single digits thanks to a pair of buckets in the paint from Tims and a made three from Eric Hackett. The latter was a major scoring presence for the team in the second half - both inside and out. After the Tornado lead ballooned back to 18, Southern Wesleyan patched together a 9-0 run which featured perimeter shooting from both Hackett and Smith. The Warriors kept King within striking distance for most of the second half, even taking the lead down to five with 1:20 to play thanks to a tip-in from Jamarras McCray. However, the Tornado executed late, knocking down enough of their free throws to seal the win. 


What's Next: 

The Warriors travel to Young Harris, Georgia on Tuesday, February 11th, and then will host UNC Pembroke on Saturday, February 15th, and Erskine College on Wednesday, February 19th.