Rocky Mount, NC - The men's basketball team of North Carolina Wesleyan upped its overall record to 12-5 on Tuesday night with an impressive 89-73 win over league rival Methodist University in Everett Gymnasium. The victory, which evens the Battling Bishops' USA South record at 2-2 on the season, was the 200th career win for head coach John Thompson. In his 14th season at the helm of the program, Thompson (pictured) is the all-time winningnest coach in NCWC men's basketball history.

The milestone looked to be in jeopardy in the first half as the Monarchs overcame an eight-point deficit with six minutes remaining to take a slim 38-35 lead at the break.

The second half proved to be a back-and-forth battle as the first 10 minutes of the period featured five ties. Neither team, in fact, was able to forge more than a six-point advantage during that span.  Fortunately for Bishop fans, it was Wesleyan that was able to put together the game-changing run that proved to be the difference down the stretch.

Tied 62-62 with 9:20 remaining, the Bishops scored 15 of the next 17 points, capped by a Lamont Stokes lay-up at the 4:24 mark.  The run was a total team effort as seven different Bishops tallied scores. Methodist would not recover en route to the 16-point defeat.

Several Bishops made major contributions in the win, led by senior Buddy Williams' 17 points and eight rebounds. Additionally, Jarmel Arrington chipped in 13 points, while Trey Drake and Stokes had 12 points apiece. Drake narrowly missed a double-double with eight assists.

For the Monarchs, Leland Jones tallied 17 points and Tyler Sigman had 16.

The Bishops shot 44 percent from the floor on the night and held Methodist to just 37 percent accuracy. With both teams recording 22 points at the free throw line, the significant difference in the game came from bench play where the Bishops held a 37-15 scoring advantage.

Thompson will begin his pursuit of 300 on Thursday night when the Bishops travel to Averett University. Game time is slated for 7:30 p.m. in Danville, VA.
 

Return to Men's Basketball Main