NEWBERRY – Outscoring visiting Francis Marion 50-37 in the second half, the Newberry College Wolves erased a six-point halftime deficit to earn their first victory of the season, 83-76 Wednesday night in Eleazer Arena.

Five different Wolves reached double-digits for the game, including season-highs for Jalen Johnson (17 points), James Lovorn (17), Malik Joseph (14) and Devario Sheppard (14); Caleb Byrd had 11.

Newberry (1-3) impressed from deep, making 11 of 26 3-pointers for a shooting percentage of 42.3%. The Wolves also made the most of their opportunities at the free-throw line, converting 18 of 20 attempts.

After trailing 39-33 at the break, the Wolves fell behind by 10 at the first media timeout of the second half, 47-37. From there, the Scarlet and Gray took over.

3-pointers from Jalen Johnson and James Lovorn on successive possessions – and a free throw from Lovorn – gave the Wolves seven quick points to narrow the gap to 49-44 with 14:24 left in the game, forcing the Patriots to call a timeout.

Newberry followed that up with a 7-0 run capped by another Lovorn shot from long range to give the Wolves a 51-49 lead with 11 minutes to play, their first since leading 31-30 with three minutes remaining in the first half.

Francis Marion (2-5) regained a 55-54 lead with just over nine minutes on the clock before Newberry responded with another 7-0 spurt to take a 61-55 lead with 6:45 to go.

Joseph's jumper necessitated another Patriot timeout and the Wolves never relinquished the lead from there. Coming out of the timeout, Newberry extended its advantage to 70-58 – a 16-3 run in total – with four minutes left to effectively put the game out of reach.

As a team, Newberry recorded a season-best six blocks, and the home bench easily outpaced the visiting bench 28-13.

The Wolves will hit the road for a date with Lincoln Memorial Saturday (Dec. 2). Newberry's first South Atlantic Conference battle this season is scheduled for a 4 p.m. tip in Harrogate, Tennessee.