Men's Basketball Wins AAC Opener Against KCU

Grayson, Ky.- The men's basketball team traveled to play their first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) game on Saturday. The team took on the Kentucky Christian University Knights. It was also the team's first road game of the season.

Kentucky Christian scored the first basket of the game. A pair of free throws by Kobe Pride put the Bulldogs on the board. Ty Patterson gave TWU the lead and baskets from Pride, Jonathan Webb, and Elisha Mayberry helped the team lead 13-8 as 16:05 ticked on the clock. Eight straight points from the combination of Mayberry, Patterson, and Webb gave the team a double-digit lead of 21-11. The team continued to lead as Darius Rozier and Ray Tyler scored through the midway point of the first half to make the score 33-16. Peyton West drove to the basket and completed a layup to move the lead to 37-23. With 4:43 left in the first half, the opponents had cut the lead down to five points. Pride, Tyler, and Webb pushed the lead back out to double digits, but Kentucky Christian cut the lead down to single digits by halftime as the scoreboard read 52-45.

Five straight points to open the second half by Patterson made the score 57-45. Pride scored back-to-back layups to put the team up over the 60-point mark. The team continued to hold a comfortable lead as a three-pointer by Patterson made the score 71-55. With 6:52 left in the game, Kentucky Christian cut the team's lead down to single digits. Mayberry and Tyler pushed the lead out to double digits again with three-point jumpers with 5:50 remaining. Kentucky Christian made one more run at the lead but the Bulldogs held on to win 98-92.

Webb (22 points and 10 rebounds), Patterson (20 points and 11 rebounds), and Mayberry (14 points and 10 rebounds) all finished with double-doubles. Pride (18) and Tyler (13) also scored in double digits.

The win moved the team's record to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the AAC.