First year men's basketball coach Marcus Kirkland got a big gift from his team in his first ever game as head coach, with an impressive 81-75 road victory at 2024 NCAA Tournament team Emmanuel in the Conference Carolinas-South Atlantic Conference Challenge in Franklin Spring, Ga.

Newcomer Gyterson Louissant came off the bench to score 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting and nine rebounds to lead a balanced attack.

Veteran starting guard James Lovorn added 14 points, making 4-of-7 three-point shots and fellow returning Wolves Drake Downs and Drew Robinson each chipped in 11 points apiece.

The depth of Newberry was highlighted as the Wolves reserves outscored the Lions bench 38-18 as newcomer Janyle Pittman contributed nine points to combine with Louissant and Robinson as stars off the bench.

Last year Emmanuel posted a 26-7 record, advanced to the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals and beat the #1 ranked team in the country, Northwest Missouri State, in their season opener.

The Wolves turned that all on its head thanks to blistering first half shooting and a consistent defensive effort winning the program's first season opener since November 8, 2019, and after losing their first three games to start last season.

Newberry never trailed the entire game with the game begin tied just twice in the first few minutes of the game.

Devario Sheppard nailed a 3-point shot to give the Wolves the lead for good at 7-4 just two and a half minutes into the game.

The Wolves built the lead to as many as 15, 32-17 after a made 3-point shot by Robinson.

Newberry took a 43-33 lead into the break after shooting 60 percent from the floor overall (18-30), and 54 percent (6-11) from 3-point territory.

The Wolves maintained their double-digit lead for most of the second half and built the advantage to a game-high 17 points, 77-60 with 4:26 left in the game after a layup by Robinson and still led 80-70 with 22 seconds remaining in the contest.

The Wolves face Southern Wesleyan Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Franklin Springs.