Hendrix's hot shooting and large half-time lead proved too much for the Pirates to overcome as they dropped their third conference game of the year, 76-81.
After a frustrating first half where the Pirates shot just 32 percent from the floor, Southwestern found themselves down by 15 points going into halftime and facing a red hot Hendrix team that was 8-15 (53.3%) from behind the arc in the first half.
The Pirates began the task of chipping away at the Warriors' lead at the start of the second half and pulled within 8 points on a Ross Hayes lay-up just five minutes into the period. The half would continue with Hendrix pulling further ahead on the sharp shooting of Cal Rose. Southwestern would not be able to pull any closer than 9 at various points in the game until junior guard Zach Bergstrom hit a lay-up and 1 with 4 minutes remaining in the half.
Southwestern pulled within 6 on a Travis Barber layup at 2:43, but Hendrix's Rose responded with a three to push the lead back to 9. After trading baskets, Southwestern's Bergstrom was fouled on a three-point attempt and made two of three to bring the Pirates within 7, but only a last second jumper by Anthony Cox would close the gap to five.
Hendrix shot 50% from behind the arc for the game and 46.3% from the field. Southwestern was able to stay in the game thanks to free throws. The Pirates shot 77.1% from the line and made 9 more free throws than Hendrix.
Southwestern was led by Bergstrom who had 16 points on the night. Cox followed with 12 points, going a perfect 8-8 from the line. Junior guard Travis Barber chipped in 11 points and had a team high 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
The loss moves the Pirates to 7-4 on the season and 0-3 in conference play. Next up the Pirates take on Millsaps on Sunday, January 4th at 1:00 p.m. in Georgetown, TX.
