Coleman's double-double lifts Bishops to 88-86 victory

Rocky Mount, NC - Sophomore forward Adam Coleman (pictured) scored 15 points and pulled down 14 rebounds on Monday night, leading his men's basketball squad of North Carolina Wesleyan to a hard-fought 88-86 win over conference rival Methodist College in Everett Gymnasium. Wesleyan saw its 12-point halftime lead dwindle to just one point late in the game, but the Bishops held on down the stretch to even their overall season record at 8-8.  More importantly, Wesleyan remains tied atop the USA South standings with a 3-1 league mark.  The loss drops the Monarchs to 6-10 on the season, 1-3 in conference play.

Methodist led by as many as six in the first half, forging a 19-13 advantage at the 11:55 mark behind the hot shooting of Dragan Radmanovic.  The Bishops answered with an 11-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 27-19 lead.

A hard foul on NCWC's Lenny Hall, followed by a Monarch technical, allowed the junior guard to net four consecutive free throws, giving the Bishops their biggest lead of the half at 46-30 with just under five minutes remaining.  Wesleyan would take a 52-40 lead into intermission.

In the second half, the Bishops maintained a five to ten point lead for the first 13 minutes of the period.  Methodist, however, kept chipping away, and an Antwin Shuford jumper at the 6:19 mark cut Wesleyan's lead to just one at 78-77.  The Bishops countered by scoring the next eight points to push back ahead by nine, but the Monarchs would not go down without a fight. 

MC pulled to within two at 86-84 with 38 seconds left in regulation.  Methodist's rally would come up short when Coleman pulled down his 14th rebound on a would-be game-tying jumper by MC's Travis Winstead.  Coleman then sank two crucial free throws with 17 seconds on the clock to make it a two-possession game and seal the deal for the Bishops.

In addition to Coleman's performance, freshman Trey Drake added 25 points and knocked down 5-of-6 attempts from behind the arc.  Hall, the current USA South Player of the Week, finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals in a solid all-around effort.  Jarvis Cobb chipped in 13 points off the bench.

For Methodist, Radmanovic netted a game-high 32 points and completed the double-double with 13 rebounds.  Robert Lee and Shuford each added 15 points for the Monarchs.

The Bishops continue USA South play this weekend when they travel to Averett and Ferrum on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.  Both games are slated to begin at 2:00 p.m.