CLEVELAND, Ga. –Truett McConnell University men's basketball (0-1) suffered its first loss of the season in its home opener against the Talladega College Tornadoes (1-0) by a score of 65-57 on Tuesday.
The Tornadoes jumped into an early lead after a 16-5 run to start what served as their season opener as well, highlighted by paint points from Malik Hinton, Keyshawn Watkins, and Tramarian Huguley. Desipte the double-digit defecit, the Bears were able to claw back and snatch the lead before intermission, thanks to 12 first half points from graduate student
Jadon Yeh.
Talladega College dominated the board and second chance points through the first 20 minutes, outrebounding Truett McConnell 17-7 in the first half. However, it was the Bears' discipline on the ball that allowed them to weather the differential, as they committed just two turnovers in the first half, and converted 7 points off of Tornadoes errors.
The second half featured another early run from Talladega, as they once again built a double-digit lead of 45-35 with 14:49 left to play. The Bears once again strung together a response to the score, this time through momentum created by senior
Preston Kent, as his back-to-back baskets highlighted a 7-point run to bring the contest within two at 49-47.
Unfortunately, the Bears were never able to achieve the lead after the Tornadoes' early run to start the half. After getting within a point of Talladega's margin, conversions from Isaiah Mayes and Jordan Moore put the Tornadoes back up by multiple scores. The nail in the coffin was four consecutive turnovers within the span of two minutes to prevent any opportunity for the Bears to respond to Talladega's 61-55 lead, and after a few more exchanges, the score settled at 65-57.
Jadon Yeh led the way offensively for the Bears with 14 points, three rebounds and two assists, while
Preston Kent was the star of the second half, offering four points and three rebounds in the final 20 minutes.
TMU will take to the road for its next four contests, including the next match against Voorhees University on Friday before opening Appalachian Athletic Conference play on Nov. 11.
