Greensboro, NC - It was a great start to the USA South Conference portion of the schedule for Greensboro College Men's Basketball (5-7, 1-0) as they defeated William Peace (6-6, 0-1) 64-59 on Tuesday afternoon. The Pride were led by DJ Jackson's 21 point, 10 rebound performance and Yariel Chudgar Benitez's 17 point effort.

Both teams struggled to score throughout the first half. The first field goal for either team was scored over three minutes into the game by the Pacers, as they scored the first 8 points of the game. Greensboro erased the early deficit to take an 11-9 lead with 9:34 to play in the first half.

The teams swapped the lead for the duration of the half, but William Peace finished on a 9-2 run to take a 29-22 advantage going into the break. Jackson and Chudgar Benitez both turned up their offensive games in the second half, slowly helping Greensboro erase the Pacers' advantage.

William Peace held the lead for most of the second half, but Greensboro would eventually pull ahead 45-44 with 8:18 to play. From there, the Pacers never regained the lead as the Pride grew their advantage to as many as 7 points with 2:00 remaining. The Pacers twice got to within 3 points, but Greensboro found a way to keep their lead and secure a 64-59 win.

For Jackson, his 21 points are the third most he has scored in a game this season. He is now just 40 points away from 500 for his career. Chudgar Benitez's 17 points are a career-high as he went 3-6 from long range and 7-11 from the floor. Dwight Vincent also had a strong effort, scoring 14 points. 

Notes:
- Greensboro also defeated the Pacers in the conference opener last season, earning a 63-61 win on January 7, 2025. They are 2-1 against William Peace in their last three match-ups.
- As a team, Greensboro went 6-15 from behind the arc and 12-17 from the free throw line.
- The Pride bench out-scored the Pacers' bench 39-11.
- Jackson leads the team in points per game (minimum of 9 games played), averaging 17.0 points per contest. He is also tied for the team lead in blocked shots with 7.

Up Next:
Greensboro will travel to NC Wesleyan on Saturday for a 4:00 pm tip-off against the Battling Bishops.

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