Greensboro, NC - Head Coach Jim Cantamessa said during his pre-game interview that his team was focusing on themselves over the break and that is how they would become a better team.  In order to get back to their winning ways they would need to come together and play solid on both ends of the court.  His statement would ring true as the Greensboro College Men's Basketball team opened the Guilford Holiday Classic with a win over Centre College (KY) 81-66.

The first half began with the Colonels scoring the first two points, but Junior Isaiah Pruett (Asheville, NC) found Junior Tim Boulware (Greensboro, NC) to tie the game at 2-2.  The lead would exchange hands again, but a basket from Junior Erik Alvey (Durham, NC) gave the Pride the three-point advantage, 8-5.  Sophomore Grant Thompson (Graham, NC) got in the scoring column with a three-point play, to give Greensboro their largest lead so far, 13-8.  However, Centre would start to get things going offensively and with 4:57 remaining in the half, they held a seven-point advantage, 23-18.  Pruiett was able to cut into the lead with a three-pointer, off an assist from Senior Ty Hill (Shallotte, NC) and Hill followed that up with a three-pointer of his own a few possessions later.  Junior Mason Sergi (Ashburn, VA) pulled the Pride to within two points, and then Junior Matthew Brown (Orlando, FL) drained a three-pointer from the wing to send Greensboro into the locker at halftime leading 29-28.

The Colonels gabbed a quick lead as the second half have began, but a layup by Sergi put the Pride back out in front, 33-32.  Hill pushed the advantage to four points after hitting his second three-pointer of the game, but Centre was able to pull back to within two points after a made basket,  However, Hill would make it back-to-back three-pointers to give Greensboro their largest lead of the game, 44-36, forcing the Colonels to call a timeout.  The score would stay that way for the next few minutes until Boulware converted the Pride's seventh three-pointer of the game.  However, as they did in the first half, Centre began a run and cut the lead to two points, but baskets by Pruett, Brown and Sergi stopped the momentum and with 8:25 left in the game, Greensboro held the seven-point lead, 58-51.  A few minutes later, Sergi converted a three-point play and that was followed up by a Boulware layup, and a Pruett three-pointer, pushing the advantage back to double-digits, 70-60.  As the game was coming to an end, the Pride would make their free throws and come away with the win by a final score of 81-66.

Greensboro had four players finish in double-digit scoring with Pruett leading the way with 20 points, while Boulware added 15 points, followed by Hill with 14 points and Sergi with 13 points.  Brown continued his dominance on the boards, grabbing a total of 12 rebounds, with 11 of them coming on the defensive end.  The Pride will be back in action tomorrow as they face Bridgewater State (MA) in the final game of the Guilford Holiday Classic.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00pm.