Greensboro, N.C. - The Battling Bishop men's basketball team dropped a tough 75-70 contest at Guilford College on Monday in Greensboro. After trailing by 21 points at the break, Wesleyan used a valiant second half effort to get as close as three points down the stretch, but the Bishops' comeback bid fell just short in the five-point defeat.
The Quakers (6-2) came out on fire in the opening half, knocking down seven of their first eight shots from the floor to take an early 16-2 lead. Wesleyan connected on just 34 percent of its attempts in the period, compared to 60 percent accuracy for Guilford. The Quakers would eventually take a 47-26 advantage into intermission.
The tables turned in the second half as GC struggled from the floor, shooting at just a 28 percent clip. Led by sophomore Eric Dortch-Jones' game- and career-high 29 points, the Bishops were able to cut the deficit to single digits midway through the half. A lay-up by freshman Adrian Moore would later make the score 69-65 with 1:06 to go.
With the Bishops forced to foul, Guilford made a single free throw on each of its next four possessions, but Wesleyan was unable to get a shot to fall. Freshman Kaimonne Douglas' and-1 three-pointer with four ticks remaining once again made it a five-point game, and Dortch-Jones was promptly fouled after grabbing the offensive rebound off the free throw. The Washington, D.C. native made both of his attempts at the line to make it 73-70 with two seconds left, but the Quakers sealed the win with a pair of free throws of their own.
Dortch-Jones completed the double-double with 10 rebounds on the night, while Moore joined him in double-figures with 10 points. Jonny Rice paced the Quakers with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Wesleyan (6-3) will now break for the holidays before returning to action on December 28th at North Carolina A&T. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00pm.