Thomas' double-double not enough, Bishops end season at SU

Winchester, VA - Freshman Domarius Thomas tallied his first career double-double on Tuesday night, but it was not enough as the North Carolina Wesleyan men's basketball team dropped an 83-77 decision to Shenandoah in the first round of the 2009 USA South Conference Tournament. Thomas (pictured) netted 16 points and grabbed 11 boards for the Battling Bishops, who finish the season with a
14-12 overall record.

The first half saw Wesleyan take control early by forging a 24-10 lead at the 11:09 mark. Shenandoah, however, put together a 19-5 run over the next seven minutes to tie the score at 29-29. SU's Chris Schrader scored 11 points during the run and finished with 17 in the period.

The final seven minutes of the first half proved to be a back-and-forth battle. The Bishops came out on the better end of it as a three-pointer by junior Ivan Butler with six seconds left gave them a 40-35 lead at the break.

Wesleyan went on to lead by as many as nine in the second half, going up 70-61 with 8:10 remaining. Unfortunately, the Hornets again rallied with a game-changing run, this time out-scoring NCWC 12-2 over a four-minute span to take a 73-72 lead with 4:15 left in regulation. Shenandoah did not trail again.

Thomas was joined in double-figures by Jarmel Arrington, who poured in a team-high 19 points. Junior Trey Drake narrowly missed a double-double with 12 points and nine assists, while Butler finished with 10 off the bench.

Schrader paced the Hornets with game-high 28 points and completed the double-double with 10 boards. Kevin Kline and Kenny Robertson added 16 and 15 points, respectively.

Both teams finished 26-of-60 from the field, and the Bishops knocked down eight treys to the Hornets' one. The difference came at the charity stripe where SU connected on 30-of-41 free throw attempts. Wesleyan was just 17-of-28.

Return to Men's Basketball Main