Rocky Mount, N.C. - A pair of double-doubles from senior KeChae Parker and junior Robert Wilson helped N.C. Wesleyan's basketball squads tally a two-game sweep on Saturday in Everett Gym. Parker poured in 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to help the Bishop women secure a 75-65 non-conference victory over Virginia Wesleyan, while Wilson's 12 points and 11 boards paced the men in a 91-75 win over USA South foe Greensboro College.
The first game featured a tightly-contested, physical affair between the Marlins and Bishops as the two teams combined for 62 fouls and 84 free throws on the day. VWU held a slim 31-30 lead at the half, but NCWC would out-score the Marlins 19-13 in the third quarter to take a 5-point lead, 49-44, into the final ten minutes of play. Freshman Javana Jones led the way with seven points in the period, going 3-for-3 from the floor.
In the fourth quarter, the Marlins' Jayla Harris single-handedly erased her team's deficit with three straight unanswered jumpers to put VWU on top, 54-53, with 7:21 to go. The Bishops, however, countered with an 11-2 run over the next five minutes to pull away for the win. NCWC connected on 16-of-21 attempts at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter alone, with Parker netting 11 points and grabbing six rebounds during that span.
She was joined in double-figures by freshman Kayla Johnson with 12 points off the bench, while Jones and sophomore Caila Spruill added 11 points apiece. Harris finished with a game-high 28 points to lead VWU.
On the men's side, Wesleyan closed out the first half with an 11-5 run to forge a 36-28 lead at intermission. Greensboro answered at the start of the second half with a 11-2 run of its own to erase the deficit and go up 39-38 with 17:11 remaining.
Sophomore A.J. Frye proceeded to take matters into his own hands with back-to-back lay-ups that turned the momentum back to the Bishops. Frye's buckets sparked a 16-2 Wesleyan run that proved to be the difference in the game as the Pride would not recover, allowing the Bishops to cruise to the 16-point win -- their third victory in their last four outings.
Frye finished with 20 points to lead all scorers, while sophomore Justin Tankelewicz and senior Adrian Moore added 13 and 11 points, respectively. Senior Malique Judd added nine points to lead Wesleyan's bench scoring, and freshman Josh Covington provided a spark during the game-clinching run with four assists and a pair of rebounds.
Wesleyan's men (4-4, 2-0 USA South) wrap up the 2016 portion of their schedule on Tuesday with a key league tilt at Averett University slated for 7:30pm. NCWC's women (4-6, 1-2 USA South) will now break for the holidays before returning to action on January 6th at Greensboro.