Greenville, N.C. - The North Carolina Wesleyan men's basketball squad tipped off its 2014-2015 season on Friday night in Greenville, dropping a hard-fought exhibition at Division I East Carolina University by a 99-81 score. Led by a career-high 25 points from sophomore Eric Dortch-Jones, the Battling Bishops out-scored the Pirates 54-51 in the second half to quiet an ECU crowd in excess of 5,000.
The Pirates took a 48-27 lead into the break thanks to a 15-of-19 showing at the charity stripe. ECU maintained a similar lead at the opening of the second half, forging a 24-point advantage with 11:47 to go in regulation, 66-42.
The Bishops, however, would mount a furious 18-4 run over a three-minute span to get to within ten, 70-60, at the 8:31 mark. Buckets by freshmen Kaimonne Douglas and Adrian Moore ignited the rally, which featured a pair of dunks by Dortch-Jones and junior Devontae Williams. Unfortunately, the Bishops got no closer as the Pirates countered with a 10-0 run of their own to pull away down the stretch.
Moore joined Dortch-Jones in double-figures with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while 11 different Bishops found the scoring column on the night. Wesleyan's bench out-scored ECU's 47-33 in the contest, although the Pirates held a 46-32 advantage in the paint.
The Bishops officially open their regular season slate on Tuesday night at Mid-Atlantic Christian University. Game time is slated for 7:00pm in Elizabeth City.