Box Score SEWANEE, Tenn. - The Sewanee men's basketball, thanks to a 21-point second half by Adrian Thomas, outscored the Emory & Henry Wasps, 40-38. However, it was the visitors who took the season-opening win, 80-70, Wednesday night at Juhan Gymnasium.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Score: Emory & Henry (1-0) 80, Sewanee (0-1) 70
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HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Teams traded points back-and-forth for the first four-plus minutes, but the Tigers would get the next two shots. After an Adrian Thomas layup and an Andrew Heitzenrater three-pointer, the Tigers were up four early on the 20-win team a year ago in the Wasps. Those two shots sparked a 10-4 run to make it 16-11 with 11:50 left in the half.
-Emory & Henry eventually tied the contest at 16 points apiece, but the Tigers would regain the lead, 23-19. However, the Tigers were held at 23 points as E&H went on 13-0 run in almost a six-minute span.
-Trailing 42-30 at recess, the Tigers made it a 10-point contest with a Thomas jumper, but the Wasps went on another run, going on a 6-0 run to make it 48-32.
-The Tigers responded by cutting the deficit back to single digits, but the Wasps contained the second half despite being outscored by the Tigers, 40-38.
-The Wasps controlled the boards in the contest, outrebounding the Tigers, 43-28.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mick Hedgepeth
I am very proud of our team, but I am extremely disappointed on a season-opening loss in front of a great crowd. Our guys competed and battled until the end. We had some similar mistakes from our preseason work with foul trouble and digging out of a hole early. I give a lot of credit to an Emory & Henry team who finished second in their conference last year and winning 20 games. They made a lot of timely shots that we were unable to make. We have to make those timely baskets on our end as well.
SEWANEE KEY STATISTICS
-Adrian Thomas led all scorers with 31 points on 12-for-19 shooting, earning career bests in points and field goals made. His previous highs in both categories came against Hendrix last February 10, where he scored 24 points and made nine shots from the field. The sophomore also led the Purple and Gold with six rebounds.
-Luke Smith drained 17 points thanks to 8-for-9 from the charity stripe.
-Andrew Heitzenrater drained three 3-pointers off the bench.
EMORY & HENRY KEY STATISTICS
-Chase Branscomb scored 19 points and grabbed 13 boards to lead the Wasps.
-John Shelor added 14 points, while Jarris Hendricks scored 12 points off the bench.
UP NEXT
The Tigers will continue its opening three-game homestand this weekend with the Lon Varnell Classic. Sewanee will take on Washington & Lee on Saturday night at 6 p.m.
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