NEWBERRY, S.C. – Newberry College junior forwards QuanDaveon McCollum and TJ Brown combined for 42 points as the Wolves closed their regular season schedule with a 69-50 win over the Coker University Cobras, Wednesday night. McCollum had 20 points and Brown led the way with 22.
 
The Wolves started out slow in the first half and found themselves down 15-8 after the opening 5:56. Sophomore guard Tai Giger knocked down a three to bring the Wolves within six, 17-11, but the Cobras soon extended their lead to double-digits. Coker was up 21-11 with 10:12 to play in the half.
 
Newberry closed the initial 20:00 on a 10-3 scoring run. McCollum sank two hook shots followed by a pair of threes from Giger and Brown. The run cut the Wolves deficit to 24-21 before halftime. Even with the 10-3 run, Newberry shot 27.6% (8-29) from the floor in the first half. Also, the Wolves scored their lowest number of points in any half this season with 21.
 
Brown led the way out of the break. After a bucket from McCollum, Brown splashed a three-pointer to give Newberry their first lead of the game, 26-24, 1:27 into the second half. Brown scored 19 points after halftime.
 
After Brown's go-ahead deep ball, the two teams passed the lead back and forth. The advantage changed hands six times before Newberry leaped ahead for good. Giger hit a three with 11:24 remaining in the game and thrust Newberry permanently ahead 42-40.
 
Senior guard Marcus Ford earned a steal and set up Brown for a fast break layup. Brown was fouled on the play and converted the old-fashioned three-point play. The emphatic play put the Wolves up 52-46. Beginning with the Ford-Brown connection at the 7:52 mark, Newberry rattled off a 19-2 run to close out the game and won 69-50 over the Cobras.
 
FAST FACTS

• Newberry scored a season-low 21 points in the first half, and their second-highest second half total with 48. That 27-point difference marked their biggest margin between two halves this season. Newberry has scored 467 points in the first half this season (33.4 ppg/1H) and 564 points in the second half (40.3 ppg/2H).
• The Wolves shot 58.6% (17-29) from the floor, 54.5% (6-11) from deep, and 88.9% (8-9) from the line in the second half.
• Brown went 2-2 (100%) at the line tonight. He is shooting 86.5% (32-37) from the charity stripe over his last six games.
• Newberry (9-5) finished above .500 for the first time since going 15-14 in 2017-18.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
Newberry earned the fourth seed in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament. The Wolves (9-5, 9-5 SAC) take on the fifth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (8-6, 8-6 SAC) on Monday, March 1, at Eleazer Arena. The Conference has not announced a start time yet, check back to www.NewberryWolves.com for updates.