MOUNT BERRY, GEORGIA - Southwestern University Men's Basketball fell short in the SAA Tournament semifinal on Friday night against the first-seeded, Rhodes College, 83-70. The Pirates finish the 2025-26 season 13-14 overall. 

Southwestern made monumental jumps this year including a 11 win improvement, most season wins since 2018-19, along with winning the program's first conference tournament game since 2016. The first season of the Matt Streich was a success, proving the league wrong after being selected to finish last in the preseason coaches' poll. The squad graduates pivotal leaders and productivity, but also return multiple young standouts who played monster minutes. 

Rhodes came out with relentless defense, holding the Pirates to just five points in the first ten minutes. Southwestern got hot in the second half, scoring 49 points. However, the Lynx knocked down shots from all levels while matching the Pirates bucket for bucket as the Pirates couldn't string together enough stops. 

Sophomore Aedan Lewis notched his second straight double-double with 23 points and 12 boards. Senior Shobby Enakpene finished with 22 in his final game as a Pirate. 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• The Pirates dropped both regular season matchups with the Lynx, but brought in an abundance of confidence after last night's performance along with nearly taking down Rhodes a few weeks ago. 
• Offense was tough to come by as the Pirates struggled to get to the rim, down 20-5 with ten minutes to play in the first half. 
• Junior Zach Gomez was aggressive bringing the Pirates within 14 at halftime, 35-21. 
• Rhodes out rebounded the Pirates 28-16 in the half as the Pirates made zero threes. 
• The Lynx started to bury outside shots, leading 47-23 with 15 minutes remaining. 
• Freshman Kalen Williamson entered, making a triple to pull within 20. 
• The Pirates continued to claw away, scoring 47 points in the final 15 minutes. 
• Lewis found momentum with six straight points, down 60-45. 
• Enakpene scored 12 points in his final five minutes of his collegiate career as the Pirates fell short. 

GAME NOTES

• Enakpene and Lewis were fantastic in the second half, combining for 45 points on the night. 
• Lewis had 12 rebounds for a career-high. The sophomore broke career-highs this weekend in points (28), assists (6), and now rebounds (12). 
• The Lynx dominated the offensive glass with 20 second chance rebounds. The Pirates struggled from deep at 5-27. 

SEASON NOTES

• Multiple senior conclude incredible careers. Senior Luke Hatcher finished his career with 847 points, 474 rebounds, starting 77 of 91 games. 
• Enakpene had a breakout season at 17.4 points per game, scoring 822 career points with 474 this season. Both senior contributes also made massive impacts off the court. 
• The Pirates offense made a ten-point points per game increase from 2024-25. 
• Season highlight moments included three last second wins, six non-conference wins, and a semifinal appearance.