Drake nets 25 to lead Battling Bishops over Pride, 80-76

Rocky Mount, NC - Junior Trey Drake poured in a game-high 25 points and dished out four assists to lead his Battling Bishop men's basketball squad to an 80-76 victory over Greensboro College on Saturday afternoon in Everett Gymnasium. Drake (pictured) netted 14 first half points to help Wesleyan forge a 39-30 halftime lead, and the Bishops went on to shoot 52 percent in the second half to secure the victory. The win is the first in USA South action for the Bishops, who now stand at 11-5 overall. Greensboro drops to 6-10 overall and remains winless in conference play.

Wesleyan led by as many as 14 in the first half as the Bishops held a 31-17 advantage with 4:22 remaining in the period. The Pride, however, managed to out-score NCWC 13-8 over the final four minutes to cut the lead to single digits at the break.

Greensboro opened the second half with an 8-2 run to pull within three points at the 16:28 mark, and the Pride eventually tied the game at 51-51 with just over 10 minutes remaining. Four different Bishops responded with scores to highlight a 12-2 run that saw NCWC go on top again by 10 at 63-53 with 7:18 left in regulation.

But the Pride would not go down without a fight as the GC duo of Brady Walter and Adam Powell helped erase the deficit. With 2:55 remaining, a Powell lay-up gave Greensboro its first lead of the contest at 70-69.

The final three minutes featured five ties and six lead changes, the last of which saw a steal and lay-up by junior Lamont Stokes give Wesleyan a 76-74 lead that it would not relinquish. Stokes went on to trade dunks with GC's Michael Mitchell before two Jarmel Arrington free throws with one tick left on the clock sealed the victory.

Stokes finished with 21 points to go along with Drake's 25.  Adam Coleman and Alex Murray had 12 and 11, respectively, while Murray completed the double-double with 14 rebounds.

For Greensboro, Walter recorded 18 points and Powell had 14.  Anthony Simmons added 15 points and three assists off the bench.

Wesleyan returns to action at home on Tuesday when Methodist University visits Rocky Mount.  Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. in Everett Gymnasium. Live audio and in-game statistics will be available via www.ncwc.edu/athletics.
 

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