Rocky Mount, N.C. - North Carolina Wesleyan wrapped up its annual Roger Taylor Invitational on Sunday afternoon, downing Division II St. Andrews University by an 82-77 score in Everett Gymnasium. Senior Matt Dougherty poured in a tournament-high 29 points to pace the Bishops en route to All-Classic honors, while fellow senior Devin Nichols joined him on the All-Classic team thanks to his double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds versus Maryland Bible.
Versus the Knights on Sunday, the Bishops took a 34-27 advantage into the break and pushed their lead to 12 midway through the second half. St. Andrews climbed to as close as two on four occasions inside the last five minutes, including pulling to within 79-77 with 30 seconds remaining.
Wesleyan's Justin Griffith, however, knocked down a pair of huge free throws to make it a two-possession game, while Nichols connected of 1-of-2 with eight seconds left for the 82-77 final.
Dougherty made huge basket after huge basket on Sunday, going 9-of-16 from the floor and 5-of-8 from behind the arc. He was joined in double-figures by Griffith and Cornelius Snow with 12 points apiece, as well as Josh Morrison and Domarius Thomas with 11 and 10, respectively. As a team, the Bishops shot a solid 48 percent from the floor on the day.
Wesleyan had previously been upset by Maryland Bible College by an 89-83 score on Friday night. In addition to Nichols' performance, Thomas turned in a double-double of 22 points and 12 boards. Snow added 15, while Morrison and Griffith had 12 apiece. The Eagles overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half thanks to their 47 percent accuracy from the floor.
In Saturday's contest, St. Andrews downed Maryland Bible by an 89-75 tally.
Nichols and Dougherty were joined on the All-Classic Team by St. Andrews' Ross Williams and Aaron Christian, along with Maryland Bible's Charlie Bowman and Jason Reynolds. All three teams posted a 1-1 record in the tourney.
Wesleyan (2-1) hosts Mid-Atlantic Christian on Tuesday night. Tip-off is slated for 7:30pm in Everett Gym.