NCWC, UMW Win Pair at Roger Taylor Invitational

Rocky Mount, N.C. - The men's basketball team of North Carolina Wesleyan hosted its 2012 Roger Taylor Invitational over the weekend at Everett Gymnasium. The host Bishops, along with the Eagles of Mary Washington, went undefeated in the tourney as both teams earned victories over York (N.Y.) and Maryland Bible College.

Sunday's action kicked off with UMW downing MBC by a 68-56 score. Lamont Fields paced the Eagles with 22 points and 15 rebounds, and he was joined in double-figures by Taylor Johnson with 18.  Brandon Johnson and Charlie Bowman had 16 points apiece for the Soldiers.

Wesleyan then took the court for a hard-fought 80-76 victory over a determined York squad. The second half alone featured eight lead changes and a pair of ties before NCWC could take the lead for good, 67-65, on a pair of free throws by senior Julian Martin with 4:19 to go.

The Bishops' Brandon Givens took over from there, scoring 11 of Wesleyan's final 13 points, which included a 9-for-9 showing at the charity stripe. Givens finished with a game-high 32 points on the night -- his second straight 30-point performance and third in the past four games.

Sophomore Chris Ford and senior Cornelius Snow complimented Givens with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Junior Josh Morrison added eight points, eight boards and six assists.

The Cardinals were led by Tony Vails with 26 points.

Previously on Saturday, Mary Washington opened play with an 87-71 win over York. Bradley Riester led the Eagles (2-2) with 25 points, while Vails again paced the Cardinals with a game-high 32.

The Bishops followed up with an 89-70 victory over Maryland Bible in a contest that featured a ceremonial jump ball by Roger Taylor, the tournament's namesake. Givens then continued his stellar play with a game-high 31 points and 17 rebounds. Snow also contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards, and Morrison netted 17.

The Soldiers' Davon Gardner paced his team with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.

For their efforts, the following players were named to the 2012 Roger Taylor Invitational All-Classic Team:

Chris Ford, N.C. Wesleyan
Brandon Givens, N.C. Wesleyan
Cornelius Snow, N.C. Wesleyan
Lamont Fields, Mary Washington
Taylor Johnson, Mary Washington
Tony Vails, York College (N.Y.)

The Bishops (5-0) return to action on Wednesday when Mary Washington makes a final trip to Rocky Mount for a 5:30pm tip-off.