Newberry, S.C. - The Newberry College men's basketball team (14-12, 14-10 SAC) were able to end the regular season with a 66-61 victory over the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday in Eleazer Arena on Senior Day.

Senior, Marcus Ford (Eatonton, Ga.) opened up the scoring for the Wolves with a three-pointer. After trading baskets, the Bears were able to pull ahead by four points, but Ford was there to hit another three before QuanDaveon McCollum (Clio, S.C.) hit a shot underneath the basket to give Newberry the lead. However, the Bears responded with a 10-0 run to push back ahead. McCollum and Malik Joseph (Eleuthera, Bahamas) were able to chip away at the lead. The Wolves managed to cut the deficit to as little as a single point, but Lenoir-Rhyne was able to hold onto the lead, sending the game into the halftime break with Newberry trailing 31-33.

The second half would start off back-and-forth with McCollum and TJ Brown (Columbia, S.C.) trading baskets with the bears. Devario Sheppard would then hit a three-pointer to kickstart a 12-0 Newberry run that featured Sheppard putting a Bear on a poster with an emphatic slam while being fouled to ignite every fan in the building. The Bears would keep hanging around, cutting the lead to as few as two points, but the Wolves always had an answer. McCollum and Brown would hit timely shots to keep the Wolves ahead, and Ford closed out the victory at the free throw line. 

McCollum led the way offensively with an efficient 20 points and 8 rebounds. Meanwhile, Ford had himself a solid outing with 16 points while leading the team with 5 assists in his final game in Eleazer Arena. Sheppard would join them in double figures with 12 points and 6 rebounds while Malakhi Stremlow provided a solid contribution on the glass by grabbing 6 rebounds of his own. 

With the victory, the Wolves have earned the sixth seed in the South Atlantic Conference tournament, and they will travel to face Tusculum in the opening round on Wednesday, March 2 with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.