Cougars basetball huddle during a time out at Southwest Tennessee Coummunity College
Cleveland State opens conference play with a loss at Southwest Tennessee Community College.
The Cougars were down one at halftime, but Southwest Tennessee pulled away in the second half taking the 60-51 victory Friday night.
"We played tough, our effort was great, but we just came up short on a few plays," said head coach Lee Cigliano. "We're looking forward to a great season ahead of us."
Cleveland State's Dontrell Whitaker and Darrion Leslie each tallied a double-double. Whitaker scored 18 while bringing down 12 rebounds. Leslie put up 12 points with 11 boards.
Brandon Key and David Burrell led the Saluqis scoring 29 of the team's 60 points.
The Cougars are back on the road today traveling to Dyersburg State Community College for game two of the conference season. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.