Hartsville, S.C. - The Newberry College men's basketball team (13-12, 13-10 SAC) fell on the road to the Coker Cobras on Wednesday 78-55.
Malakhi Stremlow (Traverse City, Mich.) opened up the scoring with a layup underneath. The Cobras would take a slim lead, but QuanDaveon McCollum was there to tie up the score. Coker would once again take the lead, but Jalen Johnson (Sumpter, S.C.) converted on back-to-back shots to put the Wolves back in front. Both teams would then go back-and-forth with the lead changing hands five times on their way to a tied score of 18-18. However, Coker utilized a 10-2 run to push back ahead. Marcus Ford (Eatonton, Ga.) and Robin Bedford (London, England) helped trim the lead to three before Sherman Robinson (Freeport, Bahamas) was able to get the deficit to as few as two points. However, the Cobras would heat up at the end of the half, finishing the period on a 10-2 run to send the game into the break with the Wolves trailing 39-27.
The Wolves would come out swinging in the second half as Ford hit a three-pointer to fuel a 7-0 Newberry run, but the Cobras were able to respond. TJ Brown (Columbia, S.C.) was able to convert on a three-pointer of his own to try and swing the momentum, but Coker always seemed to have an answer with timely shooting from distance, this time in the form of a late 13-0 run to secure the victory.
Johnson led the way with an efficient 14 points in 17 minutes of action off the bench. Ford would add 10 points of his own while Stremlow had 8. Meanwhile, McCollum had 7 points and 7 rebounds.
The Wolves will look to bounce back on Saturday, Feb. 26 when they host the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne in Eleazer Arena on Senior Day for the final game of the regular season with tipoff scheduled for 4 p.m.