Box Score

The Truett-McConnell Men's Basketball team picked up its first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) victory of the season Saturday, knocking off perennial conference favorite Tennessee Wesleyan College 73-69 on the road in Athens, Tenn. The Bears improved to 3-5 overall and 1-2 in AAC league play.

 

Senior guard Rudy Deaza (Gainesville, Ga.) led the way with 25 points, knocking down six of ten 3-point field goals. Sophomore post J'Quayveon Williams (Lake Wales, Fla.) tallied 14 points and 14 rebounds. Junior JR Hurst (Helen, Ga.) finished with 10 points, knocking down two critical 3-point shots in the second half.

 

For Williams, it was his third double-double of the week after posting 17 points and 12 rebounds at NCAA Division II Lee University on November 17 and netting 25 points and 10 rebounds in a narrow loss to Montreat College on November 19. In just eight games, Williams has already recorded six double-double efforts.

 

"This was hands-down our most complete and most disciplined effort of the season," said Head Coach Jon Yeh. "Rudy got us going in the first half, and then we took care of the ball, spread the offense around, and got stops in the second half."

 

The Bears jumped out to a 22-9 lead in the opening 8:30 of the first half. Deaza led the charge hitting his first four 3-point attempts, but turnovers plagued Truett the rest of the half. The host Bulldogs converted many of those into easy points and staked a 38-32 lead at the half.

 

Tennessee Wesleyan's lead surged to 11 with 14 minutes remaining before the Bears started chipping away. Deaza and Hurst regained their outside shooting touch, and the Bears' defensive intensity picked up. Truett-McConnell held the Bulldogs to 29 percent shooting in the second half and just one of 12 from beyond the arc. Tennessee Wesleyan had been shooting 47 percent from the field and 43 percent from the 3-point line prior to the game. The lead changed hands two more times before free throws from Deaza and sophomore guard Brandon Cerezola (Peachtree City, Ga.) sealed the victory.

 

"Tennessee Wesleyan is always one of the top teams in the league," commented Yeh. "So to get a win on the road in their gym is a huge bonus to us in league play."

 

The Bears will host AAC rival Point University on Tuesday, November 25, before traveling to Jackson, Tenn., for a non-conference match-up with Union University on Saturday, November 29.