‘We’re 44 points away from being 26-2’: Wolves split crucial last two regular season games in turn around season

NEWBERRY — The Newberry College men’s basketball team found themselves in a hard fought battle in their home finale. The Wolves(13-14, 10-13 SAC) moved past Anderson(15-12, 11-12 SAC) with a 78-73 win.

Newberry College picked up a crucial conference win in their home finale on Wednesday, Feb. 26th to keep their postseason hopes alive.

The Wolves got off to a slow start and found themselves on the wrong end of run by the visiting Trojans. Newberry was forced to call a timeout after going down 10-3 in the early minutes of the first half. The home team regrouped after the timeout and made a run of their own to cut the small deficit down.

On the defensive end, the Wolves struggled to keep Anderson out of the paint. The visitors dominated the points in the paint total and put Newberry in foul trouble early on. Despite the early foul trouble, Devario Shepard and James Lovorn was able to keep the Wolves in the game in the first half.

Newberry College closed the second half on a 5-0 run, but still trailed 30-27 at halftime.

The scoring totals went up for both teams as they pace picked up in the second half. The spirit of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry in the 1980s must’ve came over these two teams at halftime because they got up and down the floor. Things also got heated on the Newberry bench because they were called for a technical foul. That proved to be a turning point in the game for the Wolves because they went had a three minute stretch that gave them the lead back.

It started with graduate student and starting point guard Drew Robinson. He had a stretch in the game were he went on a 7-0 run by himself and made impact plays on both ends of the floor. He finished the game with a game-high of 25 points and also added five rebounds and three assists.

The Wolves took the lead,59-56, with about five minutes left to play in the game after Robinson hit a three-pointer to tie the game then got the steal and assist that lead to a three-pointer to give them the go ahead basket. The home team didn’t look at this sequence and went on a 13-3 run to give them their biggest lead of the game, 69-59.

“Well they just don’t want to stop playing, they don’t stop playing. That’s the big thing, we have to get these next two to have a chance. We are going to need some help in the league but we got to get these next two. Today and Saturday are the most important games of the year,” said Wolves head coach Marcus Kirkland.

Kirkland also gave credit to his veteran point guard after the game as well. He stated that Robinson has been a great leader for them all season and is ‘always the first one in the gym and the last one to leave out’ all season.

Lovorn added to Robinson’s 25 points with 18 points and knocked three huge three-pointers. Shepard added 10 points as well to help combat the four double figure scorers from Anderson. Malakhi Stremlow flirted with a double-double, nine points and 10 rebounds.

Saturday, March 1

Newberry put up a strong fight in its season finale, trading leads six times and keeping the game within reach before ultimately falling 98-85. The Wolves trailed 43-38 at halftime but remained competitive throughout, showcasing their offensive firepower and resilience.

Newberry (13-15, 10-14 SAC) delivered an impressive performance, shooting 45% from the field and knocking down 10 three-pointers. The Wolves were aggressive in attacking the basket, earning 39 trips to the free-throw line and converting 27 of them. Defensively, they forced turnovers and recorded 10 steals, creating fast-break opportunities that kept the game tight.

Drake Downs led the charge with 20 points, including a 9-of-12 effort from the free-throw line, while Drew Robinson added 18 points and four assists, hitting three shots from beyond the arc. Malakhi Stremlow made a strong impact inside, tallying 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. James Lovorn provided a steady outside presence, sinking three three-pointers on his way to 13 points while also contributing two steals.

The game saw multiple momentum swings, with Newberry responding to runs with timely shooting and defensive stops. The Wolves capitalized on turnovers to generate fast-break points, and their balanced scoring effort helped them stay within striking distance. The Wolves showed improvement from last year, with their record being (8-17 overall, 7-13 SAC).

“We are 44 points away from being 26-2 so I’ll leave that nugget with you. Forty-four more points and we are sitting at the top of the league and probably ranked somewhere highly in the country. We have to figure a way over the course of the year to limit those 44 points and see if we can get them,” said Kirkland.