Men's Basketball Falls in Season Opener

DALTON, Ga.- The day came for the men's basketball team to play their first game of the 2023-24 regular season. The day was Monday and the schedule took the team on the road for their season opener against the Dalton State College Roadrunners.

Ty Hurst made the first basket of the season for the Bulldogs, making the score 4-2 in favor of the opponents early in the game. Jay Reed and Kobe Pride put the game in two different ties, the latter moving the score to 9-9. Emmauel Ndambi put the game in another tie but TWU could not take over the lead, falling behing 18-12 over the next few minutes. The Bulldogs worked to tie the score again, knotting the score at 21 each on a Keshawn McPherson jumper with five minutes remaining in the first half. One more tie occurred but the Roadrunners went into the halftime break leading 33-26.

Unfortunately, the deficit grew in the opening minutes of the second half as Dalton State moved ahead 40-27 four minutes in. A three-point basket by Ty Runyan made the score 44-34 but a few moments later, the team found themselves trailing 51-34 as the shots would not fall for the Tennessee Wesleyan. A late run by the Bulldogs brought the team within eight points of the lead as the team fell by a final score of 65-57.

Hurst led the offense with 17 points while Reed led on the boards with seven rebounds.

TWU (0-1) will be back in action when they play their home and conference opener against Montreat College on Wednesday. The game is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.