Battling Bishops come up short, fall to Pride 91-80

Rocky Mount, NC - Greensboro College took forged a 48-37 halftime lead and held off a late rally by North Carolina Wesleyan to down the Bishops by a 91-80 score on Saturday afternoon in Everett Gymnasium.  The Bishops, who trailed by as many as 22 in the second half, pulled to within six points with 1:25 remaining, but the Pride knocked down 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.  GC moves to 12-4 overall, 3-1 in USA South play.  Wesleyan is now 7-8 on the season, 2-1 in conference action.

The Pride shot 62.5 percent from the floor in the first half to the Bishops 31.4 percent.  The Bishops, however, were 14-of-18 at the charity stripe in the period to go into the break down just 11.

Greensboro continued its hot shooting in the first eight minutes of the second half, out-scoring Wesleyan 22-12.  A lay-up by Adam Nicholson at the 11:29 mark gave the Pride their biggest lead of the game at 72-50.

The Bishops responded with a 14-2 run that pulled them to within 10 points at 74-64 with 5:31 remaining.  Lenny Hall netted eight points during that span. 

The two squads traded baskets over the next four minutes, and freshman Trey Drake's three-pointer at the 1:25 mark cut the Pride lead to just six at 84-78.  Unfortunately for the Bishops, they would get no closer as Drake's trey proved to be their last field goal of the contest.

Nicholson and Lynn Bright each turned in 25 points for the Pride, while Michael McDuffie and Bruce Zamuel chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Hall recorded his second-straight game with at least 30 points, connecting on 9-of-14 attempts from the field and 11-of-14 at the free throw line.  Sharard Carmichael chipped in 14 points, and Adam Coleman had the game's lone double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bishops will continue USA South play on Monday night when they host Methodist College.  Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. in Everett Gymnasium.