Newberry, S.C. – The Limestone University Men's basketball team fell to Newberry, 79-66, in a competitive South Atlantic Conference matchup. Limestone only trailed by 2 going into the half but the Wolves pulled away in the 2nd half. Both teams now hold a 9-11 overall record, with a 6-10 record in conference play.  

Key Players:  

• Isiyah Owens (Inman, S.C.), contributed 19 points, 2 Rebounds and 2 Steals. 

• Sirr Hughes (Cleveland Heights, Ohio), coming off a 32-point performance on Wednesday, went for 14 points, 6 boards and 3 Assists this time.  

• Trevon Payton (Lilburn, Ga.), who had been clinical from distance in the Saints win against Tusculum, could show for 12 points and 5 Rebounds. 

Story of the Game:  

First Half:  

• Limestone started the game well with a layup by Hughes, a Jump Shot by Payton and another layup by Greg McKay (Nassau, Bahamas) pushing the Saints to a quick 6-1 lead. 

• Railer Varges () had a quick impact for the Saints coming off the bench with a Steal and 2 converted Free Throws before the first Media Timeout. 

• Sirr Hughes continued to score at will in the early stages of the game, but Newberry started to find answers and took their first lead of the game with 11:03 to play in the half. 

• The Wolves then found their rhythm from 3-point range and pushed their lead to 10, forcing a Limestone Timeout with 5 minutes to play in the half. 

• The Saints men reacted well and scored 8 unanswered points, while not giving up any for the last 5 minutes of action in the half, cutting the lead to 2 at 30-32. Owens scored 6 of the 8 during that run. 

• Star performer of the first half was once more Sirr Hughes who accounted for 12 of his 14 points. 

• A talking point for the Saints, going into the intermission, was their shooting performance, having shot 1-12 from distance in the 1st half. The 2nd half would be only slightly better at 2-14. 

Second Half:  

• Limestone had to watch Newberry catch fire from distance once more to start the 2nd period. The Wolves quickly led by 9 once more. 

• After that, layups, Jump Shots and Free Throws at the hands of Owens and Varges kept the Saints in distance, trailing 40-47 by the 2nd Media Timeout of the half. 

• From then onwards Limestone never really found foot in the game again. Newberry could establish a lasting double-digit lead  

• Emmanuel Okogie (Atlanta, Ga.) had some answers for the Wolves, to not let them pull away, but the lead was not threatened over the last minutes of play. Newberry kept the points at home and took victory, 79-66 

Up Next: Limestone will aim to bounce back on the road, as they continue their road trip to Andersun University, who they will face on Wednesday, January 22nd, at 7:30 p.m.