ROCKY MOUNT, NC – The Greensboro College Pride men's basketball team traveled to take on the Battling Bishops of North Carolina Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon in a USA South Athletic Conference showdown. The Pride was to take a double digit lead midway through the second period of play, but it was a pair of free throws from Simeon Howard that secured a 74-71 victory for the Pride.
Over the course of the first fourteen minutes of play, neither team was able to maintain the lead until the Bishops put the Pride in a 31-24 with 6:34 to play in the half.
After falling behind by the seven point margin, Greensboro responded back with a 8-0 run over the next two minutes of play taking a narrow 32-31 lead. Brandon Pascucci and Will Griffin connected on back to back possessions from well behind the three point arch to spark the run, but it was a Raheem Martin dash through the lane that gave the Pride the lead.
Once Greensboro was able to establish the one point lead, the two teams traded baskets before Greensboro was able to go into the locker room with a 38-37 advantage following two charity shots by Martin.
Coming out of the halftime break, Simeon Howard was able to find his groove scoring eight of his game high 22 points extending the lead out to ten points at 51-41.
However, the Bishops was able to climb their way back into the contest over the next ten minutes of play to set up an exciting and nerve racking finish.
After Wesleyan rallied back to take the lead at 66-65 with 2:05 to play, Hamilton Hawkins gave the Pride the lead right back before Martin connected from long range expanding the Greensboro lead to 70-66. However, the Bishops came back with four straight points to tie the game at 70-70 when Will Griffin gave the Pride the lead at 72-70 before Howard sealed the 74-71 victory.
"Today was a team win," Pride Head Coach Bryan Galuski said following the win. "We were tested late in the game but we showed a lot of composure down the stretch,"
Galuski also stated, "We were able to find a way to win, and that is what you need to do as a team at this point in the conference season."
Joining Howard in double figures scoring was Raheem Martin, Joseph Gatling, and Will Griffin. The Pride was able to finish the day with a 35-34 rebound advantage as Marin and Edric Roberts brought down seven boards each.
Devonte Williams and DJ Weaver led the way for the Battling Bishops with 12 points each.
With the exciting three point victory, the Pride improve their overall record to 13-6 while moving to 6-2 in USA South play finding themselves in a first place tie with Averett University. The Pride men will return to the court on Monday night when they welcome the Scots of Maryville College to Mayo C. Harlow Memorial Court. The game is set to get underway at 5:30 PM.
