NASHVILLE – Maliek Daniels poured in a game-high 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field as Trevecca Nazarene (1-0) won its season opener 92-82 over Tennessee Wesleyan College (0-2) Saturday night at the Trojan Fieldhouse.

JP Nyadaro added 19 points and nine rebounds while Taylor Ward totaled 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from downtown. Milos Macura chipped in with eight points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

The Bulldogs were led by Shannon Smith who led five players in double-figures with 17 points. He also dished out six assists. Desmond Crisp added 16 points, four assists and three steals while Derek Triplett contributed 14 points.  Zamarius McClendon and Matt Harper rounded out TWC's scoring highs with 11 points and 10 points, respectively.

In the first half, Tennessee Wesleyan jumped out to a 9-2 lead after a Crisp layup with 17:49 remaining.

Trevecca would respond with a 9-2 run of its own to tie the game at 11 following two free throws from Daniels at the 14 minute mark.

Over the next nine minutes, both teams would trade the lead back and forth three times. Following a Nyadaro free throw which brought the game to 31-30 TWC, Trevecca would go on a small run to gain a lead it would not relinquish.

Daniels came through for TNU after he took a Ward pass and drained a three-pointer giving his team a 33-31 advantage. The Trojans would go into halftime with a 42-38 lead.

In the second half, the Bulldogs would never make a run to tie the game. The closest TWC would get came after a McClendon jumper which brought the score to 42-40 just 19 seconds into the second half.

Trevecca would slowly pull away the remainder of the second half and would go up as many as 20 after a Jordan Bedwell basket brought the score to 88-68 with 4:31 remaining.

The Trojans shot 51.5% (34-of-66) from the field including 40% from three-point range (10-of-25). Trevecca held a 16-11 advantage in fast-break points and 19-14 margin in bench points.  Tennessee Wesleyan shot 49.2% (31-of-63) from the field and held a 12-7 advantage in second-chance points.

Trevecca returns to action Nov. 5 as it travels to Tennessee State University for a 7 p.m. tipoff in an exhibition match.