Men's Basketball Sneaks Past Bluefield

Athens, Tenn.- The men's basketball team was back in action on Tuesday. The team welcomed the Bluefield University Rams to Athens for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest.

Ty Patterson and Kobe Pride combined to give the Bulldogs a 4-2 lead early in the game. Bluefield scored the next four points, holding the lead until an Elisha Mayberry layup started a 12-3 run which ended with TWU leading 16-10. Along with a Mayberry, Patterson and Ray Tyler scored during the run. Darius Rozier scored five consecutive baskets for the Bulldogs, his final basket of the half making the score 27-26 in favor of the opponents with 3:15 remaining in the first half. By the end of the half, Tennessee Wesleyan held a 31-30 lead after points from Emmnual Nbambi, Mayberry, and Peyton West.

Through the early spots of the second half, the game remained close. Tyler opened the second half with a three-pointer before Bluefield turned the lead in their favor with five consecutive points. Pride turned the lead back in the Bulldogs' favor, an advantage the team held through the next few minutes with points from Patterson and Tyler keeping TWU ahead. The opponents took the lead back for a brief moment, breaking a 41-41 with 11:47 remaining in the game. Pride's three-point play put the team back ahead and, Rozier and Ray helped the team lead 48-43 through the midway point of the second half. With 5:02 remaining in the game, the Bulldogs were leading 57-50 after a Mayberry three-pointer. Tennessee Wesleyan held on to their comfortable margin for the next few minutes until the game became tied 66-66 with 53 seconds left. Tyler broke the tie, but the game became tied again 68-68. Out of a timeout, Tyler broke the tie once again, and the defense did not allow Bluefield to tie the game or take the lead after again, helping the Bulldogs win 72-68 after a pair of Tyler free throws.

Rozier finished a perfect 10-10 from the field on his way to a career-high 20 points and Tyler finished with 15 points. Pride (14) and Patterson (10 and 13 rebounds) were also in double figures.

The win moved the team's record to 12-4 overall and 11-4 in the AAC.