ATHENS, Tenn. | The Truett McConnell men's basketball team got out to a hot start, but Tennessee Wesleyan fought back to claim an 83-75 win over the Bears Saturday evening. TMU is now 3-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.

TMU led by as many as 10 points in the first half at 27-17 after two three-pointers by Jacob Booke with just under nine minutes left in the half. The Bulldogs responded by finishing the period with a 26-10 run to take a six point lead to the locker room at halftime.

The Bears did not go quietly in the second half, battling with the Bulldogs for the lead throughout the first 15 minutes of the second half. Both teams had slim margins until TWU finished the game on a 13-6 run.

Kai Lambert led Truett McConnell with 15 points on 7-14 shooting. The Bears shot nearly 45 percent from the field in the loss.

TMU will have one more game prior to the Thanksgiving holiday as they travel to Milligan on Tuesday to take on the Buffaloes at 7:30 p.m.