The men’s basketball team traveled to Virginia for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest on Saturday. The team was in action against the Bluefield University Rams.
The three-ball was falling early for the Bulldogs as Peyton West opened the scoring with a three-pointer. Ray Tyler hit another three-point basket for TWU and Ty Patterson knocked down back-to-back three-point jumpers, giving the Bulldogs a 14-13 lead five minutes into the game. Eight straight points by Bluefield put Tennessee Wesleyan in a 21-14 hole. Kobe Pride, Patterson, and Tyler all scored but Bluefield kept matching their baskets as the score moved to 26-20 with 10 minutes until halftime. Points from Elisha Mayberry, Darius Rozier, Patterson, Jonathan Webb, and Pride were not enough to put the Bulldogs in the lead as the opponents led 43-36 at the halftime break
TWU scored six straight points to open the second half. Points from Pride, Mayberry, and Patterson cut the deficit to one point. Bluefield responded with an 8-2 run to move ahead 51-44 only to see the Bulldogs come back with a 16-1 run, making the score 60-52 in favor of TWU with ten minutes remaining. The 16 points came from the combination of Webb, Rozier, and Tyler. The sequence of runs was not over though as Bluefield scored 11 of the next 16 points to take the lead back with the scoreboard reading 63-62. With 3:14 remaining in the game, Mayberry hit back-to-back three-pointers which gave the Bulldogs back the lead for good, and a Rozier layup made the score 70-66 with 1:54 remaining. Free throws down the stretch by Patterson, Cameron Montgomery, and Tyler along with a Rozier layup helped Tennessee Wesleyan win the game 76-68.
Patterson had a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds while Rozier tied his career-high with 14 points and Mayberry added 13 points to be double-figure scorers for the Bulldogs.
TWU (8-1, 7-1 AAC) play their final regular season game of the semester on Saturday. The team will be on the road for the game against No. 17 Union College. Tip in Barbourville, Ky., is set for 4:00 p.m.
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