BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Hendrix College men's basketball season came to an end with an 82-69 loss at Birmingham-Southern College in the opening round of the Southern Athletic Association Tournament Friday.

The Warriors (4-21), who were the eighth seed, trailed the host Panthers (20-6) 40-29 at halftime. BSC, the top-seed after going 14-0 in the SAA during the regular season, led 68-58 with 4:35 left. Hendrix went on an 11-6 run over the next three minutes to cut the deficit to 74-69 with 1:40 on the clock. BSC sealed the game by scoring the final eight points of the game. They went 5-of-6 at the free throw line and hit a three-pointer in the final 85 seconds.

For the game, the Warriors shot 39.3 percent (24-of-61) from the field, 9-of-29 from three-point range and 12-of-23 at the line. The Panthers shot 54 percent (27-of-50) overall, 8-of-14 from three-point range and 20-of-30 at the free throw line. BSC had a 40-32 rebound advantage.

Hendrix Notes
- Freshman point guard Preston Smith led the Warriors with 19 points and three assists.
- Senior guard Drew Nikolovski scored 13 points with five rebounds and three steals in his final game.
- Freshman forward Bryce Batchelor scored 11 points with five boards, a block and a steal.
- Freshman guard Ryan Brady netted nine points in his first career start.
- Grad student forward John Ogle had five points, two assists and steal in his final contest.
- Junior center Gearen Littlefield had five points and seven rebounds

Birmingham-Southern Notes
- SAA Player of the Year Alex Avery paced the Panthers with 21 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.
- Evan Lewis scored 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 5-of-6 from three-point range.
- Harrison Deneka scored 12 points and blocked two shots.