Men's Basketball Opens 2026 with Win

ATHENS, Tenn.- The men's basketball team picked up their sixth win of the season by beating the Spartanburg Methodist College Pioneers on Saturday. The Bulldogs won the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest 84-75.

The game started with TWU scoring the first seven points through Armando Cuardado, Ty Runyan, and Reshaun Hampton. Charles Neverdon moved it to 10 of the first 12 points with his three-pointer, and a layup by Hampton gave the team a double-digit lead. By the midway point of the half, the lead had disappeared for the Bulldogs. Spartanburg Methodist had taken a 28-21 lead. Tennessee Wesleyan remained behind for the remainder of the first half, going into the break trailing 46-42.

Five minutes into the second half, the Bulldogs tied the game 49-49 on Hampton's layup. After a pair of free throws by Runyan put the game in a 55-55 tie, JJ Rueckert scored five straight points to give the Bulldogs a 60-55 lead. Halfway through the second half, the Bulldogs led 66-59 after Zhaelin Callahan's jump shot, but Spartanburg Methodist made the game close by cutting the lead down to two points. With the score 68-66, TWU scored eight straight points to push ahead by double digits and never looked back in the nine-point win. 

Rueckert finished with a career-high 19 points.

Up next for the Bulldogs (6-6, 5-3 AAC) is a home conference contest on Wednesday against Reinhardt University at 7:30 p.m.