Winchester, Va. - North Carolina Wesleyan opened the game with a 23-2 run and never trailed as the Battling Bishops cruised to a 77-67 victory at Shenandoah on Saturday afternoon. The win is the third straight for the Bishops, who now stand at 12-10 overall, 6-4 in USA South action.
Despite the Bishops' hot start, the Hornets rallied with a 19-2 run of their own to trail just 39-33 at the break. Shenandoah continued to apply pressure in the second half, pulling to within four, 49-45, at the 12:54 mark of the second half.
Junior Cornelius Snow answered for the Bishops with the third of his four three-pointers on the day to give Wesleyan a 7-point cushion. Shenandoah later got as close as five at the 6:45 mark, but NCWC again answered by way of the three-pointer as senior Matt Dougherty drained his third trey of the game.
Dougherty, who finished with a game-high 21 points, later knocked down a fourth bomb to give the Bishops a 71-61 lead with just over three minutes remaining, which matched the final margin of victory.
Alex Murray turned in a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Bishops, while Snow and Domarius Thomas chipped in 13 points apiece. Thomas, too, completed a double-double with 11 boards.
Avery Green paced Shenandoah (4-19, 2-9 USA South) with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting.
Wesleyan continues play on Wednesday when the Bishops travel to Methodist University for a 7:30pm tip-off versus the Monarchs.