NEWBERRY, S.C. – The Newberry College Men's Basketball Team (6-6, 3-5 SAC) held off a late second-half rally from Emory & Henry University (3-9, 1-7 SAC) to earn a South Atlantic Conference victory Saturday afternoon. The Wolves topped the Wasps by a narrow 71-67 margin. Senior guard Jalen Leftwich (Lynchburg, Va.) became the latest Wasp to join the 1,000 career point club with his layup just before halftime.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Newberry 71, Emory & Henry 67
LOCATION – Newberry, South Carolina
VENUE – Eleazer Arena
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (3-9, 1-7 SAC); Newberry (6-6, 3-5 SAC)
How It Happened
- The two squads struggled to score as they went back and forth to begin the game and the Wolves clung to a 15-14 lead with just under eight minutes left in the opening half. Newberry ripped off an 11-0 run over the following two minutes of play to give themselves some cushion at 26-14. E&H continued to battle through the end of the frame and the layup from Leftwich reduced the deficit to just six at 35-29 heading into the locker room.
- The Wasps were hot to begin the second half as freshman forward Draven Pilson (Winston-Salem, N.C.) drained a pair of shots from three-point range while sophomore guard Jackson Crawford (Daleville, Va.) made a layup and knocked down another three to knot things up at 40-40 with 16:54 on the clock. Another Wolves rally through the middle of the frame saw them increase their lead back out to 14 at 61-47 at the 9:37 mark. Emory & Henry responded with a 10-2 run of their own capped off by a three from freshman guard Korbin Dixon (Milton, Ontario, CANADA) over the next four minutes to bring them back within striking distance at 63-57. Pilson continued his hot shooting as he converted two more threes and the score stood at 65-63 with 3:55 to play. The teams traded a pair of buckets apiece and the Wolves held on to the narrow 69-67 advantage with 15 seconds left. Newberry managed to make a pair of free throws to seal the deal and take the 71-67 win.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Pilson led the way for the Wasps with a team-high 22 points, four rebounds, one assist and a steal. Dixon finished with 18 points, four rebounds, one assist and a steal off of the bench while Leftwich added 10 points, three assists and a pair of boards.
- Crawford tallied seven points, five assists, two rebounds and a steal. Junior forward Assad Madassalia (Brooklyn, N.Y.) contributed a team-high six rebounds, five blocked shots and four points.
Newberry Individual Leaders
- Devario Sheppard led all scorers with a double-double of 23 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, one steal and a block. Booker Cusaac had 13 points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots and a pair of assists.
- James Lovorn finished with 12 points, three rebounds and an assist while Malakhi Stremlow registered eight points, eight rebounds, one steal and an assist.
A Deeper Look
- The Wasps went 24-for-59 (40.7%) from the field and knocked down 10 shots (43.5%) from long range. Newberry finished shooting just 34.8% (24-for-69) while making nine jumpers (37.5%) from deep.
- The Wolves outrebounded the Wasps by a 47-36 margin, but the teams were deadlocked at 12-12 on second chance points.
- Newberry made more trips to the charity stripe, converting 14 of their 18 attempts (77.8%) while the Wasps went 9-for-13 (69.2%) at the line.
- The bench was big for E&H as they contributed 28 points compared to just seven for the Wolves' reserves.
Up Next
- Emory & Henry returns home after the holidays on Saturday, January 4 when they welcome the Trojans of Anderson (S.C.) University for the We Back Pat Game. Tip is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. as the second half of a doubleheader with the women's team.
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