Hall's late-game heroics send Bishop men to semifinals
Danville,
VA - For the
second time in three games, senior Lenny Hall provided his
North Carolina Wesleyan men's basketball squad with some
late-game heroics. Just two games ago, it was Hall that beat
the buzzer with a game-winning lay-up at Averett University.
Ironically, Wednesday night's game-winner also came at
Averett, but this time it was Ferrum College that was on the
losing end.
After dropping Saturday's
regular season finale to Ferrum on a Jerrell Wade shot with
two seconds remaining, the Bishops got sweet revenge when
Hall (pictured) hit a short jumper with three seconds left
to give the Bishops an 80-78 win over the 2nd-seeded
Panthers in the first round of the 2008 USA South
Tournament.
The contest was
played at Averett University’s Grant Center due to Tuesday's
lockdown on the Ferrum campus.
Wesleyan was hot
from the start, building a 37-23 lead with 3:30 left in the
first half. Ferrum closed the period with a 12-2 run to send
the two teams into the break with the Bishops holding a slim
39-35 lead.
In the second
half, neither team could forge a significant lead as the
game turned into a back-and-forth battle. The Panthers
seemed to have the momentum when they went up three with
just over three minutes left in regulation, but three free
throws by Hall and Careem Corbett pulled the two teams even
once again at 73-73.
The two squads
traded baskets over the next minute with the Bishops finally
going up 78-76 on two more Hall free throws with 50 seconds
left. Wesleyan then suffered a brief flashback from Saturday
when Keith Crump hit a lay-up to force the game's 10th tie
with 37 seconds on the clock.
At this time of
year, however, the motto of every team is "Survive and
Advance." The Bishops did just that when Hall effectively
ran down the shot clock and drained the game-winner with
three ticks remaining. Ferrum was unable to get a shot off
in the final seconds.
Hall finished with
23 points to pace Wesleyan offensively. Adam Coleman grabbed
a team-high 13 rebounds and completed the double-double with
10 points. Trey Drake and Corbett each contributed 13 points
to round out the Bishops' double-figure scorers.
The Panthers were
led by Jon Godsey's game-high 24 points. Crump added 21,
while Derek Mitchell and Wade added 11 and 10 points,
respectively. Mitchell and Godsey also pulled down 10 boards
apiece.
The Bishops shot
over 50 percent from the floor in the contest to the
Panthers 46 percent.
Wesleyan (12-14)
now advances to Friday's semifinal play at Christopher
Newport University. The 7th-seeded Bishops will take on
6th-seeded Greensboro at 8:00 p.m. The Pride swept both
games with the Bishops during the regular season.
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