Fayetteville, N.C. - Sophomore Josh Morrison nailed a three-pointer with three seconds remaining to give North Carolina Wesleyan a 57-54 win at Methodist on Wednesday night. The Battling Bishops, who erased a nine-point deficit in the second half, have now won four straight games to move to 13-10 on the season, 7-4 in USA South play.
Wesleyan led by as many as ten in the first half and held a 35-30 advantage at the break. The Bishops, however, fell victim to cold shooting in the second half, scoring just five points over the first nine minutes of the period.
Methodist out-scored Wesleyan 19-5 during that span to go up 49-40 with 10 minutes remaining. A three-pointer by NCWC senior Matt Dougherty ended the Bishops' drought and sparked a 14-3 run that put Wesleyan up 54-52 with 3:05 left on the clock.
The Bishops were unable to capitalize on two Monarch miscues over the next 60 seconds, which allowed MU's Kyle Combs to knot the score at 54-54 with a pair of free throws at the 1:11 mark. Both squads missed potential go-ahead shots on their next possessions, setting the stage for Morrison's heroics with three ticks left. Dougherty assisted on the game-winning shot.
Morrison and Dougherty each finished with 11 points for the Bishops, while Domarius Thomas chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.
Steven Kerr paced the Monarchs (8-17, 5-7 USA South) with a game-high 15 points.
Wesleyan wraps up its regular season slate on Saturday when the Bishops host Ferrum College. Game time is slated for 4:00pm in Everett Gymnasium, and head coach John Thompson will be honoring his 2012 senior class prior to the tip.