Newport News, Va. - Behind the hot shooting of sophomore Josh Morrison, the Battling Bishops of North Carolina Wesleyan overcame a double-digit second half deficit only to fall just short in Tuesday's 73-71 loss at Christopher Newport. Tied at 71-71 with under two minutes remaining, the Captains' Conley Taylor drove to the hoop for what proved to be the game-winning basket at the 1:36 mark.
Morrison's trio of three-pointers in a 90-second span, along with the physical play of senior Ric Yarbrough down low, got Wesleyan back in the game down the stretch. The Bishops twice tied the game, the second time coming at 71-71 on a pair of Devin Nichols free throws with 2:17 remaining.
After Taylor's go-ahead drive to the basket, the Bishops were unable to score on their ensuing possession. A defensive stand gave NCWC the ball back, but a pair of missed free throws with six ticks left forced Wesleyan to foul. Taylor missed the front end of the 1-and-1, but the Bishops were unable to get a shot off as time expired.
Morrison and senior Domarius Thomas paced Wesleyan with a team-high 18 points apiece, while Yarbrough and Justin Griffith finished with 13 and 10, respectively.
Taylor led CNU (17-4, 8-0 USA South) with a game-high 24 points on the night.
Wesleyan (9-10, 3-4 USA South) returns to action this Saturday at home when the Bishops host Greensboro College at 4:00pm in Everett Gymnasium. Saturday is Alumni Day for NCWC's basketball teams, while the Department of Athletics will also be sponsoring "Sixth Man Saturday" and giving out free t-shirts to the first 100 students, faculty and/or staff to present their Wesleyan IDs.